Side Effects May Include
by Erin Weasley
Summary: Alexis Fields has known the Washingtons almost her whole life. So when her and the rest of her friends go to stay at their cabin, no suspected the terrible incident that would take place. The accident haunts her dreams and she realizes that the people she once loved can never be trusted (Also, Chapter 1 of the second book is up!)
1. When My Time Comes

Imagine the most annoying sound you can think of- multiply that by ten and you've got my alarm clock.

"Why did I ever buy you?" I groaned swatting at the snooze button. The world was a blur at first but things started to clear after a moment. I remembered why I had set the alarm to 7:30 in the first place. My boyfriend, Isaac, was coming to pick me up from my apartment so we could get to the Washington's place by 1:00. I only lived about two hours away, but Isaac was terrified of driving in the mountains and insisted on going seven mile per hour.

I reluctantly shuffled into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. There was a loud knock at the door and I opened it, thinking it would be Isaac, but instead I was greeted by Josh. I grunted and walked back to the kitchen.

"Well good morning to you too, Luther," Josh laughed. He has called me Luther since 6th grade when he found out my nickname was Lex. This made me the arch-nemesis of his favorite superhero. I scowled and pointed at the empty coffee mug, "Ah," He knew very well that I can't function without a full cup of caffeine. The machine beeped and we sat in silence until I slurped the last of the warm drink form my mug.

"So Kent," I started. He earned that name by wearing a Superman cape for an entire summer without washing it, "where is my boyfriend?"

"He wouldn't leave me and Chris in the Camry 'unsupervised,'" he snickered. "So he sent me to get you."

"That's what happens when you fill his car with 200 pounds of bright pink glitter!"

"Hey, that prank was awesome and you know it. He still hasn't gotten it all out yet," to prove his point, the prankster brushed some of the sparkle off his shoulder. I rolled my eyes and stood up.

"I'm going to change and pack some last minute things."

"Can I help?" he grinned. I shot him a look, "I meant pack!" he said, trying to sound innocent.

"Just go wait in the car; I don't want you wandering around my apartment."

"You don't trust me?" He made a fake wounded expression.

"Defiantly not," I laughed. He pouted and went down the stairs, back outside. I had everything I was taking stuffed in a suitcase. I slipped into the warmest cloths I owned and added my favorite coat for good measure. It was going to be a cold weekend.

Lastly, I went into the closet and opened my secret mini-fridge, grabbing a Jack Daniels. I hid it under my shirts in the pocket I cut into the back of my suitcase when I attempted to hide the drink form Josh at Hannah and Beth's birthday last year. We're both in love with the drink, but he always managed to steal it from me every time I've stayed with them.

By the time I got to the car, Isaac was wrestling Chris, who had somehow gotten a hold of Isaac's IPod and was playing all of his cheesy romantic music while Josh was making kissy faces form the back seat. I put my stuff in the trunk and went over to the passenger side, scowling at the intruder in my spot.

"Move," I commanded.

"But I called shot gun," Chris whined.

"My seat," I glared, "now move your butt." I quickly pointed towards the back. He muttered something under his breath but obeyed.

"My lady," Isaac handed me a warm paper bag with a banana nut muffin inside.

"Food!" Josh shouted and reached over me to grab a piece. I swatted and bit at his fingers, but he still managed to grab a chunk off the top. I turned to growl at him, allowing the thief to snatch another piece.

"What are they here?" I laughed-whined to Isaac.

"Josh is here because I still don't know how to get to the cabin. And Chris needed a ride." He frowned.

"Come on, we're not that bad!" Josh laughed, poking his head between the seats.

"Just put your seat belt on ya dummy." I shoved his face back and he stuck his tongue out at me.

The driver gripped the steering wheel and sighed. He and Josh have never really gotten alone. The only reason Isaac put up with the Washingtons was because I'd known them since I was in middle school, far before I met Isaac. My pocket vibrated and I looked at the caller ID Mike was a different story.

"Where are you guys?" He shouted into the phone.

"We left my place about an hour and a half ago," I responded.

"Who's that?" My boyfriend asked.

"Matt's just wondering where we are," I lied. Isaac hates Mike. I know it sounds harsh, but it's true. Mike and I had dated in high school, and I guess Isaac's just jealous of our relationship, but now Mike and I are just like brother and sister. I figured since Matt was on the football team with Isaac, he would be a safer approach.

"Did you just tell Isaac I'm Matt?" Mike whined.

"We'll be there in about a half hour." I ignored his protest, "Later Matt."

"I didn't know you and Matt were friends," Isaac gave me a side glance and a smirk.

"Yeah, we talk," I replied and Josh snickered from behind, calling my bluff. I shot him a warning look in the rearview mirror and he switched to bothering Chris, who had been looking out the window with his earphones in. I decided to do the same.

I watched as the woods became thicker and tiny snowflakes started to drift through the air. The road was Icy and Isaac held the steering wheel like it was the only thing keeping him in the car. I put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a small smile. Luckily for him, we reached the cable car station in a few minutes. Mike, Emily, Sam, and Jessica waited shivering in the cold.

"If it isn't Dorothy and her entourage," Emily snapped. I wear red heels once and she labels me for life. I was about to return the comment, but Mike gave me a pleading look, so I kept my snarky mouth shut. He cared about her, I'll never know why, but he did. Isaac looked around.

"Where's Matt?" He asked.

"I don't think he's here yet," Jessica yawned, trying to get a signal on her phone.

"I thought you said he was asking where we were." Isaac looked at me. Josh smiled and Mike sighed.

"Oh, I meant he was wondering _when_ we were getting here." I said trying my best not to make eye contact with Isaac. Josh laughed aloud and Isaac raised his eyebrows. Emily just looked furious that I was still lying about her boyfriend, which I admit, made me a little happy. I tried to smile convincingly, but failed. Isaac rolled his eyes, but I couldn't tell if he h believed me or not. The cable car finally arrived and we all shuffled in a sat and we all shuffled in a sat packed next to each other.

"Nice save," Josh whispered and I could _hear_ his smirk.

"Shut up." The car jerked forward and I took in a sharp breath. He smiled sympathetically. I've always despised that feeling you get in your gut when you go down a hill too fast, or for this situation, when you're swaying in the air. Isaac knew this, but he always made fun of me for it. He saw the look on my face and decided it would be funny to rock the car. I gripped his arm with one hand and grabbed Josh's wrist out of reflex with the other.

"Stop," I pleaded.

"Why?" He laughed, "Does it bother you?"

"Yes, now stop," I could hear the cables creak above us, but he continued.

"Dude, knock it off," Josh commanded sternly. Isaac stopped and looked at my fingers clamped around Josh's arm.

"Fine," he growled. I sighed in relief and released my prisoners.

"You okay?" Josh asked, his eyes burning into the back of Isaac's head.

"Yeah," I whispered, "thanks Kent."

"They don't call me Superman for nothing."

Isaac stiffened and put an arm around my shoulders. After a few more minutes of agonizing silence, the car stopped and I could breathe normally again. I tried to stand, but Isaac's grip was to strong. He brushed his long, floppy blond hair out of his eyes and stood, moving his arm around my waist.

I've been to this mountain so many times, but I still have never gotten used to the view.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Mike joked, bringing me out of my trance.

"Tell me that this isn't one of the best sights you've ever seen," I gestured to the land around me.

"I prefer," he looked at Emily, "a different kind of view." She winked and I made a gagging sound. A twig snapped and all of us looked around, "Must have just been a deer."

Chris and Josh led the way up the path with Sam close behind. Next was Mike and Emily, Jessica trailing along after them, looking strangely at her best friend's boyfriend. Lastly came Isaac and me.

"So," he started, "what was up in the cable car?"

"You know how much I hate riding in that death trap."

"No, I mean between you and Josh?" His grey eyes looked hard into mine.

"I don't know. It's usually by first reaction to grab whatever's next to me, and I guess he was just an unlucky bystander."

"What was he being so weird?"

"He probably knows how much I can't stand being in that thing and didn't want you making it worse."

"That's not really his place," Isaac snapped.

"Oh really," I could feel my face get hot, "and who's place is it?"

"I don't know, just not his."

"He is my friend Isaac."

"Well maybe," He took an annoyed breath, "never mind." Rolling his eyes, he released his grip on me and walked ahead, leaving me alone on the snow covered trail.

"Wait up!" Someone called from behind me. Ashley bounded up the incline.

"Hey, if you could try not to die, that would be great!" I joked. She saw me and smiled.

"Shut up." The red head laced her arm through mine.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

"I got up here with Matt and I was waiting for you in the cable car station, but I must have dozed off." She huddled against me. "Why does it have to be so cold up here?"

"Because, how else would the yetis survive without finding all the frost bitten corpses," I teased. Ashley hated the thought of things out in the woods. Leaves rustled abruptly and a twig snapped.

"What was that?" she squeaked.

"Probably just a deer or something," I took as step forward, dragging her with me and suddenly the world went quiet.

"RAWR!" Something big jumped out at us. We both screamed and Ashley fell back into a snow drift, taking me down with her. The figure burst into laughter. "I have been waiting out here in the cold for like, fifteen minutes, waiting for this opportunity."

"What the hell Matt!" I yelled, brushing the snow off my pants.

"I-I'm sorry," he continued to stand there and snicker as I helped poor Ashley up. "You should have seen your faces."

"Not cool!" Ashley punched his shoulder, "I thought you were Big foot or something."

"Don't worry," the jock smiled, "I'm sure someone at the cabin will gladly keep you safe." Her face went bright red, and not because of the cold. It was a well-known fact that Ashley and Chris liked each other. Everyone knew, except for Ashley and Chris.

"Come on, it's freezing out here." I looked at Matt, "It wouldn't be so bad if my butt wasn't cover in ice."

"I said I was sorry," he said, however it didn't sound like it. "If I carry your bags will you forget about it?" I quickly handed him my over-stuffed suitcase and Ashley put her ruffle bag around his shoulder then I grabbed her hand.

"Bye!" I yelled before we ran up the slippery-slope. Since Ashley wasn't much of a runner, I let go of her arm and let her slow down.

"Hey!" She called. I turned to smile at her and ran right into a flannel covered chest. Before I could fall, strong arms wrapped around me.

"Where's the fire Luther?" Josh gasped out of breath. I guess I ran into him pretty hard.

"Back there," I pointed to the huddle of bags that was Matt.

"Well your boyfriend's inside and he looks pretty pissed off." His big blue eyes sparkled with mischief. "It's because of me isn't it?" he said pretending to feel hurt, but his smile just continued to grow bigger.

"You know, this is why he doesn't like you."

"That and I'm pretty sure he thinks that I'm somehow going to take you away from him.'

"Well, he doesn't have to worry about that." I smirked and I thought I saw his smile drop.

"Lexi!" An excited voice called. I pulled away from Josh and a blur of brown hair rammed into me.

"Hey, Hannah-"

"Josh said you might not come."

"Really?" I looked at the twin's older brother.

"I wanted it to be a surprise." He shrugged.

"Well, I could never miss you and Beth's birthday." I smiled as she took my hand.

"I've got something to show you." She dragged me behind her, up to the cabin.

"Jesus Han, slow down!" I cried trying my best to keep up.

"Sorry," she laughed. She went up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Because of her quickness and my amazing coordination skills, I lost my footing and slipped on a patch of ice, cutting my knee. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I am okay." I winced as I examined to large bloody gash that was my knee.

"Who's dying now?" Ashley snorted, partly out of breath. Her and Hannah helped me up and went inside with me limping behind them. Everyone was sitting in the living room.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes." Mike joked looking at my maimed leg. Jessica rolled her eyes and handed Emily a twenty.

"Did you bet that she was going to fall?" Beth scoffed.

"Technically we bet on who was going to look stupid first." Emily said proudly.

"I thought Hannah would make a fool of herself first," Jess stated. Hannah looked at her feet. I ignored them and changed to subject.

"What did you want to show me Han?" She smiled, but her face was still really read. She shrugged out of her coat and lifted up the sleeve of her shirt, revealing a butterfly tattoo. "I thought you weren't going to get one." Hannah hated needles.

"I know, but Beth said that if I quit being a baby about it, she would get one too."

"So much regret," the other twin whined.

"You promise," Hannah sang.

"Yeah, but I didn't think you would actually do it."

"Well I did, so there!" Hannah stated, cause Mike to smiled and that caused Hannah to blush. A grumpy Matt and a triumphant looking Josh came through the door. Matt set Ashley's bag down.

"Where's mine?" I asked, hoping he didn't leave it in the snow. Josh held up my half unzipped suitcase in one hand and my bottle of Jack in the other. "No," I commanded as I tried to grab it away.

"Yes," he nodded holding the bottle above his head. How dare he use my shortness against me? Every time I leaped to get it, he just moved back, holding it further out of my reach.

"Joshua," jump, "Washington," jump, "give me," leap, "the bottle."

"Hey, I stole it fair and square." He protested.

"You went through my bag!" I screamed placing my hands on my hips.

"Okay, I stole it." He laughed as I lunged for the bottle again. "You're going to get your blood on me!"

"Here," Sam handed me a bandage which I quickly put on the wound.

"Fine, have it," I crossed my arms, daring him. "You'll be out after two shots. He raised his eyebrows, popped of the cap, and took a swig.

"Challenge accepted." He smiled as Hannah gave her brother an annoyed look.

"I'm going to go make some dinner." She glanced at Mike and went into the kitchen. The day passed by and Josh and Chris started joking and drinking at the bar. Sam and Beth went upstairs to unpack. Everyone else started laughing, so I went over to see what was so funny.

"This prank will be priceless." Emily sneered, "You, my dear Jessica are a genius."

"Just looking out for my girl, Hannah's crush on _your_ man has become out of control. She needs to know where she stands." Jess boasted.

"Hey," Mike stated, "I ain't anybody's man." I did not like where this was going.

"What are you guys talking about?" I snatched up the paper from the table and read the awful flirty message in Mike's hand writing. "Mike? You're a part of this."

"It's just a prank Lex," he looked at me like I was the one who needed to stop.

"What did Hannah ever do to you?" I asked, looking at all of them.

"We're just having a little fun," Ashley said quietly.

"Yeah, chill out." Isaac added. I stared at my boyfriend, wondering how he could be okay with this. I turned my head to the bar, hoping for a little support, finding both guys passed out next to empty bottles of liquor. They all started to head up stairs. Isaac stood up to go with them, but Emily stopped him, flashing him a flirty smile.

"Make sure she doesn't screw anything up." I watched furiously as he nodded and returned the smile. She joined the group and he sat next to me, putting a hand on my knee, but I quickly swatted it off.

Beth came down stairs and wandered around, stopping in front of the window. She didn't seem to notice as her unexpecting twin picked up the note and ran excitedly up the stairs. I was about to call out to her, but Isaac squeezed my leg, telling me to keep my mouth shut.

"I thought mom and dad said we would be alone this weekend," Beth called though neither of her siblings could hear her. She walked over to the bar and read the label of the empty drink by Josh's hand. "Once again, brother you have out done us all." Her smile faded when she saw the paper. "What has my sister gotten herself into?" The short-haired sister sighed and went into another room. We sat there without saying a word for what felt like forever. I had almost started talking about what happened on the path when Hannah ran down the stairs. Her shirt was falling off her shoulders as she ran outside. She didn't even look at us.

"Hannah!" I shouted going after her. Sam came next, followed by everyone else that was conscious.

"It was just a prank Han," Emily shouted, more annoyed than concerned.

"Should we go after her?" Mike asked.

"I'm pretty sure you're the last person she wants to see right now," Sam stated.

"What happened?" Beth pushed through in her pink coat.

"She just can't take a joke," Jess defended, going back inside. Beth glared at all of us.

"You jerks!" she yelled before running into the forest after her sister.

"They'll be fine, right?" Ashley squeaked.

"Yeah, they practically grew up here," Matt assured her, "They'll find their way back."

Sam and I were the last to go inside. Everyone must have gone to their rooms because the living room was cold and silent. I decided that I wasn't going to get much sleep, and went into the in-home theater, only it wasn't empty. Emily was pinned against the wall, but it wasn't Mike's lips kissing her.

"Lex?" Isaac looked at me, realizing what was happening, "Lex wait!"

My legs began to move without me and soon I was running. I didn't know why, but I had to get out. It wasn't until I was outside and the only thing keeping me warm was the burning tears that I even knew I was crying. How could I be so stupid?

I crossed a small wooden bridge and the trees opened into a cliff. I got there just in time to watch the closest people I had to sisters fall.

"Hannah! Beth!" I shouted.

"Hang on!" Beth yelled. A figure bent over the two girls. It almost looked as if her were trying to help them. Screams echoed and the masked man stood, as if there was nothing more he could do.

"No!" I wailed. Something screeched and I turned to see the skeleton like creature coming towards me. Even though my legs felt numb, I sprinted for my life through the dark maze of trees, snow biting at my face. I could see the dim glow of the house when the thing caught up with me. It grabbed me by the neck, lifting me off the ground. My vision blurred, but I could still see the creature be engulfed in flames. Screeching it dropped me, my head landing hard on a rock and the world around me faded away.


	2. All the Kids Cried Out

**Hey guys, I totally space on putting an author's note on the first chapter, so sorry about that. I just wanted to say that it's a total blast writing this story and that I really hope you guys enjoy it. Also if you hadn't noticed, I've added two characters to the story; Alexis** ** _and_** **Isaac. And I do not own Until Dawn or any of its characters or plots.**

"Guys! I found her!" The shout caused my ears to ring.

"Josh?" I couldn't see anything but him and his worried blue eyes. "What's going on?" He touched my uncovered arm.

"Jesus, Lex, you're freezing." He shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around me. "Can you walk?"

I tried to stand up, but it was as if I hadn't used my feet in months. Josh caught me before I hit the ground. He scooped me up into his arms and carried me back toward the cabin. I could hear others join us, but I could only see him.

"Any sign of Hannah and Beth?" He asked the person next to him, I think it was Chris.

"Not yet." He said sadly. We got inside and were greeted by people gathering around us.

"Oh my god," someone cried, and I recognized the voice as Ashley. "Is she okay?"

"Just give her some space," Josh commanded, setting me on the couch. Things started to come into focus, but the more my vision cleared the more my head began to pound. Soon every part of me ached. I looked at all of the faces around me, my eyes landed on a bloodied and bruised Isaac. Flashes of memories fill my head, but the first thing I remembered was his lips on Emily's. Mike, Chris, Sam, and Matt were gone, probably still out looking for the other two Washingtons.

"You look awful," Jessica said, looking genuinely worried. I almost laughed, but it just made my head hurt even more. The four-person search party came through the back door, looking tired and hopeless.

"The snow's covered all the tracks from last night." Mike sighed, throwing down his gloves in frustration.

"Hey," Sam comforted, putting a hand on his shoulder, "we'll find them." The former class president rubbed his eyes, which then fell upon me.

"Alexis," He rarely ever used my name, I was always either Lexi or Lex. "Oh thank god." He looked at my forehead, "What happened to you?" I touched my fingers to my temple finding it sticky with dried blood. I tried to remember what happened after I ran out of the house, but everything came back blank.

"I don't know. I think I fell." I answered dizzily. It made the most sense, but it didn't feel right.

"You must have hit your head pretty hard," Josh noted, laying his hand on mine.

"Do you remember anything that happened last night?" Isaac asked hopefully. Everyone but Emily glanced at him with disgust, and I though Josh was close to tearing him in half.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and go make some hot chocolate." Sam commanded, staring at him coolly, "Maybe Emily can help you." The two left and it seemed that everyone was relieved. I gave her a small smile.

"Remind me to thank you when I can think strait."

"You really don't remover anything?" She questioned.

"I know I was running in the snow, but everything else is just black. Like all of it was a dream." I looked out the window as if searching for something in the trees. A few more minutes of silence past and Chris decided that maybe everyone needed a break.

"I don't know about you guys, but it's been a long, extremely hung-over morning and I think that I'm going to go watch a movie."

"Sounds great," Ashley smiled shyly and the two awkwardly walked into the theater. At least that hadn't changed. I thought of Isaac's face and wondered how it got so beat up. I looked at Mike, figure he had a hand in it (not that I blamed him).

"Well, I think it'd be best for me to catch some z's since I didn't exactly get much sleep last night," Sam watched my questioning gaze towards Mike and tried to clear the room, "What about you, Jess?"

"What," The other blond clearly wasn't paying attention. Sam shifted her eyes towards me and jerked her head to the stairs. She must have gotten the picture. Matt decided to leave as well.

That just left me, Josh and Mike. Since the spot next to me on the couch was taken by Josh, who seemed lost in his thoughts, Mike sat in the chair closest to me.

"What happened to Isaac?" I whispered.

"Oh, about that," he rubbed his neck, "when I found out that Emily was cheating on me with him, I was more upset than angry. But when he said you ran out into the woods and he didn't try to stop you, I busted his lip." I could see him smile a little with victory.

"But it wasn't just his lip."

"Yeah, the black eye and the broken nose was him," He pointed to Josh. I turned to the slick-haired boy next to me. A part of me wanted to ask him what the hell he was thinking, but the other part wanted to thank him. He beat up the guy who broke my heart, but- why?

The rest of the day passed slowly and soon, Josh decided it was probably time to call the polic. I wanted to tell myself that Hannah and Beth were okay, but something felt wrong.

"They said that there's too much snow. They won't be able to clear it until morning." He looked out into the darkness with searching eyes. "I'm going back out."

"I'll go with you," I stood, my legs still a little shaky.

"No." Josh and Mike said at the same time. The oldest Washington came away from the window and grabbed me by the shoulders.

"You need to sleep." He ordered.

"And you're not going out alone," I snapped.

"He won't," Mike stated and I shot him an irritated glance.

"I'm going," I repeated.

"No, you're not," Josh sat me back on the couch. The two watched me and I realized that I was too tired to fight.

"Fine," I pouted and took off my scarf. Both boys' eyes went wide.

"Lex, what is that?"

"What?" I pushed Josh aside and went into the kitchen where Isaac and Emily stood awkwardly by the stove. I looked into the reflective surface of the refrigerator door and saw the big hand shaped bruise on my neck.

"Do you know who did this to you?" Mike stood behind me, looking pissed.

"No," I whimpered. Something told me it wasn't a _whom_ but a _what._

"Oh my god, what is that?" Emily backed away from us.

"Josh," Mike turned to the stunned brother in the door way, "We need to find Hannah and Beth."

"Y-yeah." The boys ran outside to continue the search for the twins. Realization and fear rushed over the room. If someone had tried to hurt- or even kill- me, what could they have done to the others?

"I'm going to go and hopefully sleep away this nightmare," Emily left the kitchen and went upstairs, leaving me and my now ex-boyfriend alone.

"Are you," he sighed, "okay?"

"Pretty shook up, but yeah," I crossed my arms and turned to face him, but I couldn't look him in the eye.

"Look, about last night," he started.

"How long?" I didn't want any apologizes. He looked at the ground. "How long, Isaac?"

"The Christmas part," he answered quietly.

"You slept with her on Christmas!" I whisper-shouted.

"We were drunk; you were too busy with Josh to even notice I was gone."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" I asked, hurt.

"We maybe if you weren't-" he began looking into my eyes pathetically.

"What Isaac, if I wasn't so close to Josh? Is that what this is all about?"

"If you weren't always picking him, then maybe things would have been different."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I was yelling now.

"You always chose him over him over me; if we had a date 'oh sorry, Josh wants to watch a movie.' If there was a party, 'Josh's family invited me to dinner, maybe next time, I promise.' But you know Alexis, there never was a next time, at least not when it came to me.

"So that makes it alright for you to go make out with Emily?" How could he think that any of this was okay? "I loved you Isaac."

"I guess that was your mistake." He stated sadly.

That was it, I had had enough, without even saying another word, I turned away from Isaac the sting of hot tears in my eyes once again. I just laid on the couch, curled up, and threw the blankets over my head.

 _I looked at the mangled bodied at the base of the cliff._

 _"You could have saved them you know." Someone growled from behind me. A strong hand grabbed my wrist, forcing me to look at them._

 _"Josh I-"_

 _"You just stood there and watched them die," Mike called from behind him. I looked for a way to escape, but everyone was there, blocking any way out. Sam, Ashley, Chris, even Emily, their expressions blank, but their eyes were filled with hate. They all stepped forward, pushing me closer to the edge._

 _"My sisters are dead because of you." Josh, my superhero, gripped my shoulders and threw me over the jagged cliff side._

 _I fell, the freezing air whipping at my face until everything stopped. Every bone in my body felt broken, but I could still stand. Screams and shouts echoed in the distance, but they were silenced by the horrifying screech of the creature in front of me. The skeleton lifted me off the ground by my neck and screeched one last time before tearing out my heart._

The living room was pitch-black and I almost thought I was still dreaming. Sitting up, I wiped away the sweat from my forehead. I stumbled though the darkness and jerked open the curtains, letting in a little light. My chest felt tight, as if something was gripping it. None of it made sense; there was no cliff, no creature. Did everyone really think it was my fault?

"It was just a dream," I told myself. The floor boards creaked above my head ad there was a faint cry. The moon light shone on the stairs, telling me to investigate. As I reached the second floor, I realized that the noise was coming from Hannah and Beth's room. My heart leapt. They must have come home sometime in the night. I slowly pushed open the door.

"Please be okay," a small voice prayed. The twins' older brother sat in the middle of the room with his knees pulled up to his chest. "Come home." He didn't seem to know I was there.

"Josh?" I whispered, even though no one could possibly hear us. He jumped to his feet and wiped away his tears. I took a few steps towards him.

"I didn't see-" he stopped suddenly as I pulled him into a hug.

"I miss them too." I could feel him lay his cheek on my head as he enveloped me in his arms.

"I can't lose them, Lex."

"I know," I let the tears slip down my face, "god I know." I thought of the broken bodies at the bottom of the cliff. _Just a dream_. I pulled away to look at him. "We're going to find them." I'm not sure which one of us leaned in first, but soon we were kissing. It was as if all the rest of the world disappeared and the only things left were him, me, and our memories.

Every smirk, every hidden glance, and the time when Mike got sick the night before my senior prom and Josh asked if I wanted to dance even though we both knew neither of us knew how; all of it made sense. Isaac was right. I had gone and fallen in love with Josh Washington, and I didn't even know. He pushed away first, his sky colored eyes searching my chocolate brown ones.

"And so the hero," he grinned, "falls for the villain." Of course he would come up with something cheesy to say. I smacked his shoulder and brought his lips back to mine.

The police arrived a few hours later and asked everyone a couple questions, mainly talking to me and Josh.

"They went missing two nights ago?" Once asked.

"Yeah," Josh replied calmly. The officer turned to me.

"And you don't remember any of it?"

"Nothing after I went looking for them." They didn't need to know the real reason I went out there.

"We think that she may have been attacked," Mike motion for me to take off my scarf. I showed the lady cop my bruises and watched her eyes go wide.

"We're sending out a search party now." She looked at her fellow officer, who nodded grimly. "You are free to go, but be prepared for some phone calls. We just have a few more questions for Mr. Washington." I gripped his hand, but he gave me a small smile and flicked his gaze toward my bag, which sat, still half-opened, on the couch. I stuffed my scarf inside before zipping it shut.

"I'll take you home if you want." Mike offered, putting his arm around my shoulder. I looked at Josh one last time, who appeared deep into conversation with another officer.

"Yeah, that'd be great," I threw stuff into the back seat of the truck. Emily gave me a sour look before climbing into the front of Matt's sports car. I tried to hide the marks on my neck by lifting my jacket collar, but it was useless. Checking my pockets, I found them all empty.

"Looking for this?" Josh held up phone and laughed. I tried to snatch it away, but he dropped it, catching it with his other hand. I smiled and took it out of his grip. I put my cell in my back pocket and started back to the truck. "What, no goodbye?" he whined. Rolling my eyes, I stood on the balls of my feet and place a kiss on his nose.

"Bye Kent." We stood there smiling like idiots until Mike interrupted.

"Come on, Lex, my mom told Hunter that I'm spending the week at the house for winter break!" Hunter was Mike's ginormous German shepherd. The two were inseparable, "She says he's getting impatient."

"He is just a dog. It's not like he can understand words."

"Tell that to him."

"Hey! Wait for me!" the shivering blond yelled. "Emily's not gonna like this, but can I have a ride?" Jess asked.

"Sure," Mike slipped into the driver's seat. She smiled and tossed her bundle of bags on top of mine, shimmying her way into the backseat. I watched as Josh's brown bed-head disappeared into the lodge before climbing into the passenger side. Mike started down the road. It didn't take long for the cabin to fade into the trees.

"So," Jess started, here face only a few inches away from my ear, "when did _that_ happen?"

"What?"

"You and Mr. Washington?" she giggled.

"Oh please, you make him sound like his father," I only had so much tolerance for Jessica's hopeless romantic ways.

"Don't think we didn't see you with the googly-eyes and nose kisses." Mike poked my side, keeping on hand on the wheel.

"Both hands on the wheel moron," I snapped jokingly. God, I was starting to sound like Isaac.

Mike made a faux-serious face. "She's in denial."

"Defiantly," Jess mimicked him and nodded, "one of the first signs."

"Of what?" I tried to sound annoyed but it just came out amused.

"Puppy love!" They both shouted, Mike beginning to howl like a dog. Something big streaked past the car and he slammed on the breaks.

"What the hell was that?" Jess squeaked.

"I think it was a wolf or something," he watched the woods and started driving again. For split second, I thought I heard a familiar shriek in the distance. _It's not real._ I told myself in my head. _You're not real._ Luckily, it seemed that they both dropped the subject of me and Josh. I made sure Jess wasn't listening before I asked the question which was burning in my head.

"Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?" Mike shifted his eyes from the road to me. I took a deep breath.

"The prank," I answered dryly.

"Oh, that," He frowned, "it was supposed to be funny."

"You know how much Hannah liked you." I thought about how she blushed every time Mike looked at her.

"Em said Hannah would just laugh it off."

"Yeah, well she didn't

"I feel awful, alright. Just stop talking about it." Before I could say another word, he blasted the radio, putting an end to the conversation. I breathed out heavily and turned my attention to outside. The trees always used to seem playful and happy, but now they were just… sinister. Ever the bright sun just cast them into shadow.

"Creepy, right?" Jess leaned forward watching out the window with me. "It's like everything changed."

"Yeah, who knew so much could happen in one weekend, huh?" I turned to look at her, but she just started at her lap. I had forgotten that Jess was the mastermind of the prank, no Emily. I leaned my head against the cool glass and closed my eyes.

 _"It's all your fault," Josh looked down at his dead sisters, "you could have saved them."_

 _"I know I-I didn't know what to do." I cried._

 _"You stood there and watched them fall." A crimson tear fell down his face._

 _"Josh?" He coughed, sending drops of blood splattering across the snow. "What's happening to you?" He began to laugh as his ears and nose started to bleed as well. "Josh!" There was a loud crack and his face split in half. His lips peeled away, revealing sharp, misshapen teeth. "Oh my god," the rest of his face slipped onto the icy ground in a fleshy, bloody pile. The think that replaced the boy I loved screamed and lunged onto me, its claws and teeth tearing away my skin._

"Jesus, Alexis, wake up!" Mike shook me by the shoulders roughly.

"It's all my fault!" I wailed.

"What? What is your fault?" I looked at his and Jessica's terrified eyes and understood that I was awake.

"N-nothing, it was just a bad dream."

"I'll say. You looked like the girl from the Exorcist."

"Thanks Mike," I noticed that the car had stopped, "Why aren't we moving."

"We're here," he still looked extremely skeptical.

"Oh," I glanced out the window at my apartment building. "I'll see you around I guess."

"Yeah, see ya." Jess handed my bag with sad smile. I could hear them talking before I shut the car door. "I hope she's okay."

"Me too," Mike watched me get to the door before driving away.

It was strange, walking into my silent apartment. It felt like I hadn't been there in weeks.

"Your fault!" A voice echoed.

"They're dead because of you!" another hissed. They filled my head, angry and accusing. I had to stop the screams. I turned on my stereo, hoping that the blasting music could somehow drown out the sounds of death. It didn't work. Nothing worked.

I tore into my room, with my hands clawing at my ears. The closet door was open and I could see the corner of my mini-fridge. _Please let this work._ I snatched a small bottle of the shelf and slammed the door, causing the glass inside to crash together. The liquor burned down my throat and the screams became muffled. It wasn't long before the bottle was empty and I reach in to grab the next.


	3. Run on Gasoline

**Two chapters in one day? Whew! This one is pretty short but I just wanted to show what happened to Alexis during the year and I wanted to build up that brotherly relationship with Mike.**

Four Months later

"Miss, you've had enough," the bartender frowned at me.

"I said, one more." I growled.

"Come on, you've been here every night this week, and the week before that."

"Exactly, now give me another shot." My words slurred together and my vision was dark around the edges.

"That's it," she sighed angrily, "get out."

"Excuse me?"

"I said get out."

"You can't kick me out." I protested.

"My bar, my rules," annoyed she pointed to the door.

"Fine," I tried to mutter an insult but it just came out as gibberish. My legs felt like jello and wobbled as I made my way across the bar, glaring at the group of guys making cat calls at me. The June air was hot and sticky, even at night. I stumbled into some guy standing on the side-walk.

"Lexi?"

"If it isn't Michael Monroe here to join the party," I slurred and he raised his eyebrows.

"How drunk _are_ you?"

"You tell me." I stepped forward, tripping on my own feet, and landed in his arms.

"Okay, yeah, you are so not driving."

"I never got my driver's license, remember? I walk home."

"Good, I'll help you."

"No thanks," I snorted, pushing myself away and falling onto the cement.

"It wasn't a request," he laughed.

"Whatever," I brushed off and started walking quickly to my place, which was quite the task.

"You look ridiculous!" He called before catching up.

"Does it look like I care?"

"Trust me when I say it doesn't," he smirked. I rolled my eyes and attempted to slam the door to the building in his face. We made it up two flights of stairs before I fell once again on my face. Mike helped me up and put my arm on his shoulder, half carrying me the rest of the way to my apartment.

It must have taken at least two minutes for me to fit the key in the lock open the door, welcoming Mike into my- well- what I called home. Gum wrappers and mini Fireball bottles littered the floor.

"Please tell me you don't live here, Lex." He wrinkled his nose.

"Home sweet home," I muttered.

"This wasn't a onetime thing, was it?"

"What?" Everything he said was kind of a blur.

"You, getting kicked out of a bar."

"How did you know I got thrown out?"

" _I_ would have kicked you out."

I sighed, "I probably would have too." My stomach lurched, "Oh god." The bathroom was too far away so I ran to kitchen and began to puke my guts out into the sink.

"Lex," Mike whined, holding my dark brown hair back as I continued to hurl.

The next morning was even worse. My head felt like it was caving in on itself and exploding at the same time. The voices started out as whispers and slowly evolved into shouts.

"Make them stop!" I pleaded. I desperately searched through my fridge and cabinets, but all the alcohol I had owned, I finished within the first week.

"It's all your fault!" Beth screamed.

'Save us Lexi!" Hannah mocked.

"I thought you cared about them," Josh sneered, "About us."

"No, no I'm sorry!" I sank to my knees, watching the three Washingtons circled me, their faces misshapen and bloody. The hallucinations had become just as bad as the voices.

"You did this."

"Josh, please, I'm sorry!"

"Lex! Alexis!" Mike knelt in front of me, his voice and eyes filled with panic.

"Everything is my fault!" I cried.

"Listen to me Lex, they're not real. Whatever you're seeing isn't real!" He pulled me to him, his arms sheltering me from the disgusted glares.

"They're dead and it's all my fault, Mike!" I sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's okay. I'm here." He exhaled, "God, what happened to you?" I shoved away and stood up, my legs shaking like crazy.

"I need a drink."

"I'll get some water," he rushed to the fridge and poured a glass.

"Not that kind of drink." I said meekly. He held out the water to me.

"No."

"I _have_ to make them stop."

"We'll find another way."

"You don't understand!" I knocked the liquid out of his hand, sending it crashing to floor.

"You're right, I don't. But you can't keep living like this."

He stayed with me for the rest of the week, making sure I ate and slept, comforting me when I had nightmares. The screams and hallucinations started happening less and less, and in about ten days, they almost stopped completely. They mostly only occurred if I saw something to remind me of that night.

I had been watching some TV when Mike held my phone in front of my face.

"Talk to him." I didn't take long for me to figure out who he meant.

"Josh? No, Mike, I haven't even texted him in almost five months." I looked down, "he probably hates me."

"Well to bad, I am the matchmaker and I already hit call."

"No!"

"If you don't pick up, he's either going to be creeped out, or really confused." He dropped the cell into my lap. I scramble to put it to my ear.

"Please don't pick up, please don't pick up."

"Hello?" _Dang it._

"Hey Josh, it's um- it's Lex," I winced as his phone hit something, probably the ground.

"Lex? Oh my god, are you okay?"

"Yeah Josh, I'm fine." Okay, I was getting better.

"Oh, it's just, you haven't called in a while, so I thought maybe something was wrong."

"I know and I'm really sorry, I've been… busy."

"Go on," Mike whispered.

"I was wondering," I sighed heavily, "would you like to get coffee or something?"

"Are you kidding? That'd be great."

"When do you want to go?"

"You're not doing anything today," Mike said smugly from his spot on the couch.

"Does 3:00 work?"

"Yeah," he replied excitedly. "Meet me at Starbucks?" I laughed.

"You hate Starbucks."

"You don't." I could practically hear him smirking. "I do have one more question."

"Ask away."

"Is this a date?" Again with the smirk.

"Yes Joshua, this is a date."

"See you at three."

"See ya." I hung up and turned to my guest, "Happy?" He sniffed.

"They grow up so fast."

"I'm older than you!" I threw a pillow at him.

"Shh, I was having a moment."

"Whatever," I grabbed my bag and went out the door to start a new chapter in my life.


	4. Nobody Else Sees

The anniversary

"I really want to spend some quality time with each and every one of you and just share some moments that we'll never forget, for the sake of my sisters." I stopped the video I had already watched three times. I had already talked to Josh about the trip and I knew I couldn't back out. Mike, however, had other plans.

"You're not going."

"Mike, you can't keep me locked in this apartment forever. I need to be there for Josh."

"I understand that you two are together now, but you can't go back."

"I can and I will. It's been a year, Michael!"

"And do you remember what you went through?" He snapped.

"I'm fine, and I'm going."

"How are you planning to get there, cause there is no way I'm driving you."

"Josh is picking me up." My phone buzzed, "In fact, he's waiting outside as we speak."

Mike growled and slammed the door to his make shift room, aka, my office with a couch. "You're impossible!" He shouted.

"Really, because I thought it was rubbing off from you!" I stormed down the two flights of stairs and flung open the door to the Washintons' Jeep.

"Are you okay?" Josh asked cautiously. I wiped off my angry glare and smiled.

"Yeah, just drive." After a while, it was safe for him to talk.

"Something happen with Mike?" he glanced at me, still semi-watching traffic.

"He doesn't think that I should go back to the lodge. Bad memories, you know?"

"I didn't even think about that." He frowned.

"Hey, I'll be fine. He's just worried because of stuff that happened earlier this year."

"Speaking of which, are you ever going to tell me about that? I know about the drinking problem and that he's been staying with you, which I'm not sure if I should be cool with or not."

"Trust me, it wasn't like that." I looked ahead, thinking of everything that happened in the past year. "I took the Hannah and Beth thing really hard. I started having dreams about it and the only way to stop them was the alcohol. I found him after four months when I got kicked out of a bar."

"I keep thinking that they're going to come back," he said sadly, "Like they're just gonna walk in the door wondering where I've been all year." I could tell that he was getting upset, so I decided to change the subject.

"So, what plans do we have for this evening?"

"Well," he grinned, "I was thinking a fire, maybe some s'mores," I leaned over and kissed his cheek, "That too."

Driving through the mountains felt like going back in time. Before last year, before the screams and visions. When everything was normal.

"It's weird," I observed, "being away for so long. We used to come here like every other weekend."

"Feels good to be back."

"Do you know if anyone else is coming? I know that Mike is meeting Jess there."

"Sam's taking the bus and Chris finally managed to pass the driving test. Ashley's going and Emily and Matt are coming too." He scoffed, "Can you believe they got together?" I smiled at the thought of gossiping with Josh and played along.

"She sure got over Mike quickly."

"Yeah, and as far as I know, Jess and Em hate each other."

"Well Jess did break the best friend number one rule: never date your friend's ex." It wasn't long before we reached the cable car. I took a deep breath and laughed nervously. "I guess something's never change."

"Hey lovebirds! Wait for me." Ashley yelled out the window of her bright yellow bug. After I started seeing Josh, I started talking to Ashley and Sam again. I just wish I would have done it sooner. I hopped out of the car to give her a hug. I looked at the two of them and couldn't help remembering that without Ash, I never would have met the Washingtons.

My parents were never really there for me as a kid, hell; now they just send me checks every week to make sure I don't bother them. So when I met Ashley in second grade, she was exactly what I needed in a friend. In four years we met Chris, whom she instantly fell in love with. And with Chris, came the other half of their dynamic duo; Joshua Washington.

The ride to the top wasn't nearly as bad as usual since I had them with me. I even tried to enjoy the scenery I used to love so much. The sun had just started to set over the mountains. I had underestimated how cold it would be when we reached the top. I shivered.

"You cold?" Josh wrapped his arms around my middle and lifted me off the ground.

"Put me down!" I squealed.

"Awwwww!" Ashley made a heart with her hands. She started making kissy faces.

"Oh, save it for Chr- ow!" I elbowed Josh in the ribs before he could continue. He always made fun of Chris for not making a move on Ash.

"You coming inside?" I asked when we finished walking up the path.

"Nah, I'll stay out here for a while, take in the view. Give you two some privacy," she winked and strode off. Seeing the cabin brought so many memories to mind. The snow ball fight when Josh fell out of his tree fort and broke his arm, or the time when we were playing truth or dare and Emily made me role around in the snow in my underwear. I thought of Beth running out into the woods after Hannah and flinched. Josh didn't seem to notice and tried to open the door.

"Frozen, guess we're stuck out here."

"Seriously? It's freezing out here."

"Aw, is poor wittle Wexi cold?" he pouted his lips and spoke with his best baby voice.

"Shut up," I snatched the beanie off his head and messily put it on mine, "I'm josh and I'm a big dork who couldn't open a little door because my manly muscles weren't big enough!" I deepened my voice, imitating him.

"One; it's frozen. And two; I do not sound like that." He lunged forward grab his hat, but I dodged and started running, "Hey!" he chased me around the lodge before tackling me next to a tree, both of us laughing. He laid next to me staring up at the branches swaying in the slight wind. "Sometimes, I'll be up here and I'll think I see butterfly, but it's always just a leaf. To cold, I guess. They were Hannah's favorite."

"There's a sign up here somewhere about Native American legends. White butterflies mean fortune, brown is loss, red is danger, yellow means guidance, and black is-"

"Death," he looked at me, the normal sparkle in his eyes gone. "I know. I must have read it like, a hundred times while the police were up here investigating and I just had to do something." I pulled him into a sad kiss and rubbed his cheek with my thumb.

"Yo, where is everybody?" a familiar blond boy shouted. Josh brushed off our heartfelt conversation and walked down to Chris, "Man, I feel like this mountain gets bigger every time I climb it."

"Oh yeah? Feels the same to me."

"Oh come on, you grew up here, it probably feels like it's shrinking." Chris gasped, breathing deeply.

"I guess that's true."

Chris tried to get a signal on his phone, "When are you gonna install some cell towers up here? I'm getting withdrawals already."

"You got a spare million lying around and I'll fix you right up."

"Funny you should say that," Chris dug through his coat pockets. "Man, I think I left it in my other jacket."

"Come on Josh," I chimed in, "you guys own a freaking _mountain."_

We turned back toward the lodge, Sam right behind us. Ashley sat on the stairs looking at a thoroughly pissed off Matt.

"Sup with him?" Josh wondered. Chris, Josh, and I went up to the door.

"We gonna get things moving up here or what." Matt asked.

"Yeah man." Josh responded.

"Hey, you doin' alright?" I could tell Chris was concerned. "I mean, I know it must be really tough without your sis-"

"Stop." I glanced at Josh, but he didn't seem upset.

"I just meant that-"

"No, I know what you meant. You know, seriously, I'm over it and I just want us to have a good time, you know, like we used to."

"Is the lock still stuck?" I asked, trying to defuse the tension. Josh tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Maybe there's another way in," Chris stated.

"There's a million ways in," Josh sighed, "they're just all locked."

"What about a window?" I suggested. "Maybe we could find one and- you know- get it open."I clicked my tongue.

"Wait a second, are you saying we should break in?" He turned to me.

"It's technically not breaking in if you own the place, right?" Chris agreed. Josh grinned.

"Lead the way Cochise!" I rolled my eyes at his stupid nickname, which with Chris, was constantly changing. We went back down the stairs and Chris started talking to Ashley.

"Hey Ash."

"Hey Chris." _God they were so awkward._

"How you doin?" Chris asked, trying to act all cool.

"Mm, a little cold, I think I could use some time curled by the fire."

"That sounds nice."

I made a heart with my hands and watched her glare at me. I quickly put them in my pockets when Chris turned around to see what she was looking at. While the two guys went around trying to find a window, I sat next to Sam.

"What do you think is up with Matt?" I questioned staring at the pouting teenage boy.

"Probably something with Emily," she snorted, "they're not exactly couple of the year."

"No kidding, I heard they broke up twice in the past three months."

"Seriously?" the athlete rolled her eyes. "Anyway, what did you do this year?"

"I hung out with Mike a lot. It was a rough beginning, but he helped me through it. The Josh and I started dating. What about you?"

"School," she sighed with a laugh. "I don't blame you for switching to online courses."

"That was Mike's idea. Going back would've been… too much." My voice trailed off.

"Kind of like coming back here," she gave me a sad smile.

"Yeah, but I think I needed this. We all did."

"It's just so… weird being up here you know, without them." I could almost see the tears in her green eyes. Sam was one of the toughest people I knew, but missing Hannah was a sensitive subject. I decided to bring up another memory.

"Do you remember Josh's eighteenth birthday? He had filled Hannah's shampoo bottle with green hair dye so the three of us covered everything in his room with purple duct tape."

"And so starting the prank war," she recalled with a snicker.

"We still haven't won that, have we?"

"Oh no, we won when we painted Chris's dorm room pink."

"No," I contradicted, "because then they put marshmallow all over my apartment."

"Oh my god, I remember that!" Ashley joined.

"But we hung up a ton of creepy doll heads at Josh's place."

"Yeah but they filled," I stopped before I said his name. I hadn't even thought that name in months. Sam realized who I meant and tried to brush it off.

"Yeah, that one was pretty good."

Josh came around the corner. "Chris is off to save the day." We all huddle around the door.

"WoOoOoOoOoOoO!" A voice shouted from inside. Sam put her face to the small window.

"Hi Chris, very funny."

"Aw, how'd you know it was me?" He sounded dejected.

"Shouldn't you be, like, getting the lock open or something?"

"On it." There was a bright light and the door opened. "Thank you, thank, you, I'll be here all week." Something big and furry shot out outside from behind him, making him jump back and scream. We all laughed.

"Crap, that thing freaked me out." Chris gasped.

"What was it? Are you okay?" Ashley asked, still giggling.

"It was like a bear or a tiger or something." He said, milking it out for as much as he could get.

"Pretty sure there aren't tigers up here Chris," I patted his shoulder as I walked into the living room.

"Home sweet home," Josh remarked happily.

"Sweet is not the word I'd use." Matt set down both his and Emily's bags.

"God, it all looks the same," I looked around, taking in every detail.

"It's kind of freezing in here, too." Ashley whined.

"I'll get a fire going," Josh went to the fireplace and motioned for me to come with him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine," I wasn't sure why he was asking.

"What were you and Sam talking about?"

"The prank war," I smirked and he smiled. And for a moment, everything was quiet and we just looked at each other, grinning like two lovesick idiots.

"What's up party people?" Mike shouted, Jess coming in behind him.

"Hey," Josh glanced at them and went back to the fire," make yourself at home, bro." Matt looked up and scowled.

"Yeah, come on in. Take a load off, have whatever you want. You just take whatever you want anyway, right?" He strode over to Mike.

"What are you talking about?" Mike asked, completely confused.

"What the hell were you doing with Em out on the trail?"

"I wasn't with Emily." Mike defended, annoyed.

"Oh really, do you see anyone else here who would be flirting with Em?"

"Look dude, I don't know what your problem is, but Emily and I have been done for a long time." He sat on the couch next to Jess.

"Just, stay away from my girlfriend."

"No problem," the couple hugged each other were they sat.

"Oh my god, that is so gross." Emily sneered, joining the party. "Are you trying to swallow his face whole?"

"Em," Matt sighed, clearly not wanting a fight.

"Seriously, can she be any more obvious? No one wants in on your territory honey."

"Excuse me, did you say something?" Jess stood up.

"Oh, did you not hear me? Was your sluttiness to loud?" Em barked.

"Just shut up Emily," I pulled away from Josh and moved toward her.

"Stay out of this Lex," she snapped.

"Sounds like someone's bitter she didn't make the cut."

"Knock it off Jessica," I did not want to deal with these two.

"I said, stay out of it." Emily commanded.

"And I said shut your mouth." If Em wanted a fight with me, so be it. She rolled her eyes and went back to Jess.

"Yeah, it's a big cattle call with that dream boat. Congrats, you're top cow."

"Cuts real deep calling Miss Homecoming a cow."

"You're making everyone uncomfortable Jess," Matt stated.

"Jealous much? Emily to frigid for you too?"

"Hey that's," I cut him off with a look telling him to let it go.

"Whatever, I don't give a crap what you think." The blond went back to Mike.

"At least I can think, 4.0, honor roll." Em bragged.

"I said know it off!" I snarled, face to face with Emily.

"Who's stopping me? You, a sad little slut who expects everyone to feel sorry for her because she couldn't keep her boyfriend away from me?" She sneered. She smiled sickly as I clenched my fists, ready to strike.

"Stop it!" Josh shouted, coming to my side, "This is not why we came up here. This is not… helping. It's not what I wanted." _Not what they would've wanted,_ I added in my thoughts. He turned to Mike. "Maybe we need a little bit of break right? Mike, why don't you check out the guest cabin? The one I told you about?"

"Yeah… alright," he looked at me apologetically before heading outside with Jess. When they were gone, Emily and Matt started bickering about her bag and they both left to go find it. Sam sighed.

"Okay, I am gonna go take a bath." She went up to the second floor.

"They forgot the keys!" Josh ran out to stop Mike and Jess.

"This is going to be a long weekend." Ashley sat down on the stairs.

"Tell me about it." Chris agreed.

"Oh my god, just kiss already!" I yelled in my head.

"You alright?" Josh asked when he came back inside. "Emily got way out of line."

"Trust me, I can handle her."

"Okay. How about that fire?"

"Sounds… perfect."

"Alright Josh," Sam shouted from up stairs, "Let's see if you know how to turn on the hot water in this place."

"Wanna help with that?" He asked me shrugging out of his coat and put it and his beanie on the couch.

"I've got nothing else to do." I snatched up the hat, but this time he didn't fight me. "How do I look?" I struck a silly pose."

"Beautiful, as always." He smiled softly and I could feel myself blush.

"Shut up, ya big flirt."

The basement was one of the creepiest parts of the lodge. It was filled with old Christmas decorations and film equipment.

"Pretty spooky down here, don't you think?"

"Are you scared?" He grinned.

"No, it just creeps me out." Something banged in the vents.

"You know, there could be things down here," his grin vanished and his face turned serious, "And none of them nice." I looked around, letting the fear show on my face. I turned back to find him smiling deviously. "I'm just Joshing you."

"Joshing me? I don't think that's a thing."

"Oh it's totally a thing." He opened a metal bow attached to the wall, turned a few knobs, pressed a few buttons. "Okay, so you just have to pull that lever when the light turns green."

"Gotcha." The machine buzzed and the small light turned from red to green. I slammed the lever down and the water heater turned on.

"That's my girl," Josh put his hand up. I rolled my eyes and gave him a high five. A loud sound came from behind him. "What was that?"

I cautiously walked toward the noise. A rat ran across one of the shelves before the hooded figure lunged at me. I screamed, grabbed Josh's hand, and started running. It followed.

"Come one," Josh was much faster than I was, but he gripped my hand and dragged me behind him. I knocked over a board and the figure tripped over it, grunting as it took off its mask, the hood still covering its face. We bolted up the stairs and I almost ran into the door. "No, no," It was locked.

"Why are these doors locked?" I asked panicked.

"T-to keep out stangers."

"Oh god," the thing came closer and Josh pushed me behind him. _Please don't hurt him._

"Hey," it said.

"What the hell?" I wheezed.

"Boom," Chris took off the hood and smirked. "You just go monked."

"What?" I shouted, my heart still pounding in my chest. It took everything in my power not to rip his head off.

"Nice," Josh laughed, "nice one, that was good."

"So not cool Chris," I punched his chest, "Why would you do that?"

"There's all this cool movie crap down here. What, was I not supposed to take advantage of the opportunity?" he asked innocently.

"I was terrified!' And now I was furious. I looked at Josh who was snickering. "Were you in on this?"

"Nope, but I wish I was. That was too good."

"You two are unbelievable." I snapped. Chris opened the door and I pushed passed. I sat on the couch to catch my breath. The creature from my dreams face flashed in my head, screeching. "It's not real," I whispered.

"What in god's name are you wearing?" Ashley asked Chris. He made the sign of the cross over her.

"I found my true calling."

"Please tell me you're going to take a vow of silence." She prayed. He started to mouth words without saying them. "Okay, okay did you at least find the thingy?"

"Boi-oi-oi-ing," he pulled out a thin board. "Here's our one way ticket to the sprit realm!"

"A Ouija board? Really?" I stood up and crossed my arms, "Haven't we had enough spooking for one night?"

"Relax," Josh came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my stomach, "these things never work anyway."

"Do we have a skeptic in our midst?" Chris acted shocked.

"Just reassuring the scardy-cat," Josh smirked, peaking at me over my shoulder.

"I'm not scared." I shoved him away.

"I-I was terrified!" Chris mocked, imitating my voice.

"Fine," I snatched the board from him, "let's do this."

 **And so it begins. I was super excited to post this chapter, because, not only am I finally starting the game, but relationships blossom and rivalries are rekindled. I hope you guys enjoy. And, don't worry, I'm not forgetting any characters, I have plans for them. Also, I might not be able to post a lot this week because I am super busy with concerts and a bunch of other stuff.**


	5. Spare Me Over

"So it says here," Chris started and we all sat around a table with only candles dimly lighting the room, "to communicate with the spirit world you must free your mind of all preconceptions," he looked at me, "drop all inhibitions, and generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimation your every desire to the whims of the spirit mast, which is me."

"It doesn't say that," Ashley cut in.

"Come on guys, this is crap. Can we please do something else?" I whined.

"Chris, come one, this is serious." Josh stated.

"Oh I'm deadly serious." The 'spirit master' laughed.

'Oh shush it, let's try this." Ash commanded.

"Yes please," Josh agreed.

"Okay then, let's see what happens." Chris said and they all put a finger on the little wooden triangle. I kept mine back.

"You guys go ahead; I think it's only for three people anyway."

"It's not, but suit yourself." Josh shrugged.

"Ashley," Chris smirked, "since you're a recent convert, why don't you be our medium for today?"

"Okay, uhh, is anyone there?" She asked. "Helloo? Pick up the phone… spirits… spirit phone… umm abracadabra?"

"Come on," Josh said, getting a little annoyed.

"Umm… if you can hear my voice, give us a sign," she continued.

"Yeah like peace sign or a stop sign," Chris joked.

"Guys, if you're not gonna take this seriously," Josh sighed.

"Okay," Ashley went on, "Is anyone there, wherever 'there' is?" The triangle started to move.

"Wait a minute." I sat up straighter.

"Did you do that?"

"I didn't do anything." Ashley yelped sounding terrified.

"Guys, really?" I scoffed.

"It's moving again," Chris exclaimed. It moved to 'H'.

"What's it spelling?" Josh asked.

"Hold on."

"How's this happening?"

"Are you moving it?"

"I swear it's just moving," as it moved to different letters we realized what it was saying, "Help?"

"How are we supposed to help?" Chris wondered.

"I don't know. What does it mean?" Ashley looked wearily at Josh.

"We need to know who it is if we're supposed to help them," Chris explained.

"Who are you?" She asked cautiously. It moved again and we all read off the letters.

"S"

"I"

"S"

"T"

"E"

"R," Ashley gasped, "Sister." The both turned to Josh. "Sister?"

"Okay, that's enough!" I stood up, knocking my chair over.

"Who's sister?" Josh questioned, his voice hinting panic.

"Oh come on is this for real?" Chris complained.

"Shut up. Ask it whose sister."

"Josh… it's… it's gotta be," Ash hinted.

"Yeah, ok, well, which sister is it then?"

"This isn't funny anymore," I hissed.

"Ashley, ask it who it is," Chris was clearly getting tired of this too.

"Who are we speaking to? Hannah, is that you?" _Yes._

"Oh god," I thought of the twin's voice in my head.

"This is messed up."

"Josh, are you-"

"I'm fine," he nodded.

"Are you sure, because we can stop?"

"No."

"Dude, it's cool-"

"I wanna hear what is says."

"Josh," I pleaded, but he ignored me.

"I don't know where to start," Ashley whimpered.

"Think about it," Chris glance around, "if this is actually Hannah, I mean we can find out what happened that night. Maybe she knows what happened to Lex." They all looked at me and my eyes went wide.

"I don't think I want to know." If my dreams had any bit of truth to them I don't want to relive what happened. "Josh?"

"I can handle it." I wasn't sure if he was telling the truth. Ashley continued.

"Hannah, if you can hear this, like really hear this, we all want to apologize for what happened."

'It was stupid and mean and we're sorry," Chris agreed, even though he wasn't part of the prank.

"We're so sorry Hannah," Ash cried. I could feel a tear fall down my face, but I couldn't help it, it was like I was watching everything happen all over again. Hannah's hurt and betrayed face, and I did nothing to stop them. I walked over to the window and blocked them out; I couldn't listen to it anymore. It wasn't until the dial flew off the table before I remembered what was going on.

"You know what?" Josh stood up slowly, "No, this isn't real."

"Josh," Ash exclaimed, "I don't know what's going on."

"Listen, I don't know if you think that messing with me is somehow going to help me deal with my grief or whatever, but this is not cool." He started to leave.

"Josh no! You wanted to use the spirit board."

"Hey, calm, down, it's not Ash's fault!" Chris called.

"I don't need this right now; you guys are full of it!"

"Josh!" I shouted, running after him down stairs, "Josh, it's not their fault!"

"One of them had to have been messing with it, Lex. "There's no way it was really…" his voice cracked and I pulled him into a hug.

"You're right, it wasn't real," I soothed, "it couldn't have been."

"So," Someone cleared their throat behind us, "What did I miss?" I turned around to find him standing awkwardly by the door.

"Isaac?" I wiped away my tears and looked surprised at the sight of my ex-boyfriend.

"It's been a long time, Alexis."

"What are you doing here?" Josh growled.

"You wanted to bring everyone back this year, so here I am."

"You weren't invited."

"Really, because I thought you wanted to' spend time with each and every one of us.'" He mocked.

"Knock it off Isaac," I commanded, "you're here, what now?"

"You know, I was thinking some bonding exercises and then we could all make friendship bracelets."

"I don't have the energy to deal with you right now," I sighed.

"Neither do I," Josh stormed into the kitchen.

"Was it something I said?" he sassed. I observed his shorter haircut and his hat the same color as Mike's hair.

"I take it you were the one Matt saw with Emily, not Mike."

"We hadn't seen each other in a while and we hugged. Matt overreacted if he thought it was anything else."

"I'm sure he did," I remarked. "That was like, an hour ago. Have you just been standing outside?"

"I figured you would need some time to cool off after I heard you fight with Em, so I took a little hike. Nature _is_ a wondrous thing."

"What makes you think I want to see you now?"

"It's cold out there; I just wanted to come inside."

I went back upstairs into the room Josh set up for me. Unfortunately, he followed me. I turned on the stereo as loud as it could go, but he persisted.

"So, you and Josh?" he grinned, "Can't say I didn't see that coming." He sat on the bed as I danced to the music. Eventually, I got tired and needed a drink. Turing off the music, I went into the hallway and heard a scream come from downstairs. It sounded like Chris. Isaac must have heard it too.

"What was that?"

"Something's wrong," I ran down the stairs and cautiously entered the kitchen. It was empty.

"Look," Isaac pointed at the open back door. There were footprints in the snow leading to one of the sheds around the lodge. There were also marks of someone being dragged through the ice. _Not good._

"Josh! Chris!" I stepped outside, "Ashley!"

"I'll get your coat," Isaac offered, but I was already trudging my way toward the shed in just my sweater and jeans.

We made our way across the icy ground, me with one arm wrapped around myself and the other hand holding Josh's hat on my head as if it was somehow going to blown off by a none existent wind. Isaac held open the door and we both slipped inside. We stood in a short hallway that ended with a small room.

"Hello," an intercom boomed, "Thank you all for joining me. Tonight we're going to conduct a little experiment, a sort of test."

"What?" I looked through the small window on the door. All I could see was Ashley and Josh strapped to a wall. "Oh my god!" I tried to open the door, but it was locked. "Josh!" I yelped but they didn't seem to hear me.

"Now, for this experiment, we'll need the cooperation of our two test subjects: Joshua and Ashley." The deep voice continued, "But we're going to need one more, brave participant to help decide which subject will live and which will die."

"No!" I banged on the metal door, but nothing could get anyone's attention.

"What's going on?" Isaac asked.

"I think he's going to kill one of them."

"Oh no! My god, oh my god, oh god, Chris! Get us out of here!" Ashley screamed.

"No! You can't do this! Let me down from here you maniac!" Josh yelled.

"Please," the voice said, "please, everyone calm down. It's all very simple. Christopher, you will find a lever place directly in front of you. All you have to do… is choose who you will save." Something buzzed and it sounded like a saw. I craned my neck, but I couldn't find the blond in my vision.

"This can't be happening! Oh god, this isn't right!" Ashley cried.

"Okay, okay, this is gonna be okay." Josh reassured himself. "Dude, buddy, let's just think about this for a minute." He looked pleadingly towards his friend. "Think about Alexis.'

"I'm here," I wailed, "I'm right here!"

"Oh my god, Chris, you can't let me die!" 'Ashley pleaded.

"No, no, no, no," I choked back a sob, the tears blurring my vision. Either way I'd be losing my best friend or my boyfriend.

"Give me a second. I-I can't think straight," Chris panicked from somewhere in the room. "Ashley I'll get you out of this. I won't let you die!"

"No, no Josh!" I sobbed.

"No!" Josh begged."Please no!"

"This is insane… this is nuts. This isn't happening, Chris please tell me it isn't happening." Ashley tried to get free of the ropes, but they wouldn't loosen.

"I-I don't know what to do!" Chris called.

"What's happening?" Isaac tried to peek through the window.

"He's saving Ashley!" I put my hand over my mouth to quiet my cries. "Chris chose to kill Josh."

"Bro, we've been through so much, come on. I don't wanna go out like this!" Josh cried. The saw came into my view, moving forward.

"Ah… I see. You have chosen to save Ashley." The intercom bellowed.

"God, no," I knew I shouldn't watch, but I was frozen in place, "Josh!"

"I thought we were friends man!" the saw kept getting closer, "I thought we were friends, why would you do this?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Chris shouted. "This is madness."

"No!" Josh swayed back and forth, trying to get loose, "Oh god, what did I do?" I kept thinking that it was going to shut down right before it hit him, like in the movies. But this wasn't a movie. And it didn't stop. Josh's screams mixed with the sound of the blade cutting through flesh and bone. Then, they stopped.

"Josh!"

"Don't look Ash!" Chris commanded, "Don't look."

"Why can't I look Chris? Please tell me he's okay, please!" Ashley balled. I watched as the lower half of his body slumped to the ground and his head fell forward. The door near Chris opened and he rushed out.

"I'm coming Ash, I'm gonna get you. I'm letting you down."

There was a click and the door in front of me unlocked. I ran inside and tried to get to Josh, but Isaac held me back by elbows.

"Let me go!"

"Oh my god, Lex," Chris's eyes shifted from me to Josh's body as he let down a blood covered Ashley, "I can explain."

"No!" Ashley wailed, catching a glimpse of the half body hanging on the wall. Chris turned her head away.

"Don't worry Ash. I'm going to get us out of this," he walked her toward an open barn-like door, "Come on." Isaac began to drag me along with them.

"No! I'm not leaving him!" I kicked and screamed, but he moved his arms to around my stomach to get a better hold, nearly picking me up off the ground. "Let go of me Isaac!" I finally managed to escape his grasp and ran in front of my boyfriend's body, pushing the still moving saw away. I reached out to touch his face, but my knees collapsed. I was over whelmed with sobs and my entire being felt like I was falling off the face of the Earth. I looked at the mangled mass of intestines that were hanging out from Josh's torso and got sick.

"Oh god," I could hear Ashley whimper over my hurling. When I was finished throwing up, Isaac helped me off of the ground.

"Let's get you out of here."

"I-I don't want to leave him here, alone." He helped me walk over to the open air and for a split second I thought I saw a tear streak down Josh's face, but it couldn't have been real. Corpses don't cry.

 **Hey guys, this chapter was kind of hard to type. I like writing gory and emotional scenes, but while I was typing I just put myself in Alexis's shoes and realized what I put her through. I do have to admit, writing this scene was actually kind of fun. And I told you I wasn't forgetting any characters. I wanted Isaac to still come off as a jerk, but he does help her after everything happens.**


	6. Out on the Edge

I turned Josh's beanie around in my hands as the four of us moved slowly through the snow. The whole scene kept playing over and over in my head, and each time, it felt like the blade was ripping through _my_ flesh. I could've found a way in. I could've saved him. The still sane part of me told me to stay with the group, but it felt wrong, letting him hang there like that.

"I'm going back." _Screw natural instinct._ "We can't just leave him like that." I turned around and stumbled toward the shed.

"No, Lexi, please," Ashley sniffed, "what if that maniac comes back?"

"Let him!" I snapped, "If I'm lucky he'll kill me too."

"That's not what Josh would've wanted," Chris stated sternly.

"Josh is dead!" I shouted, "Don't you understand? He's dead! You made the choice, Chris. Now you have to deal with the consequences." He just stared at me, his face contorting with hurt and knowledge of his actions.

"What about me, Lex?" Ashley stepped toward me, but I backed away. I knew it wasn't her fault, but Josh was gone and she was still here. How could she expect me to want to be around anyone right now? "You're really ready to just abandon me?"

"You'll have Chris," I scoffed.

"I can't lose you too. You're my best friend, please."

"I'm sorry Ash." I continued walking.

"So you're really that selfish?" Isaac remarked, causing me to turn back.

"What's it matter to you?" I hissed.

"Because, contrary to popular belief Alexis, I care about you! And I am not going to let you rampage off into a suicide mission."

"Please," Ashley took my hand. I looked into her sad green eyes then glanced back at the shed. "Don't leave me."

"Fine," I sighed. She pulled me into an embrace, quietly crying into my shoulder, "But I am catching that psychopath."

"Chris? Ashley!" Someone called.

"Blood, whose blood is that Ash," Emily asked, disgusted.

"Are you okay?" Matt questioned.

"Chris, what happened?" Em wanted to know.

"J-Josh."

"Josh what dude?"

"He's dead," Chris panicked, "right in front of us, man. There's a maniac."

"Maniac?"

"Oh my god, we gotta get out of here!" Emily exclaimed.

"I don't understand what happened." Matt tried to calm everyone down."

"There was this voice," I deadpanned, "he made Chris choose… and Josh is dead."

"What? Oh my god Lex, what?" Em stared at me.

"I-I killed him… I killed him," Chris cried.

"Whoa Chris," Matt said in disbelief.

"It was my fault, Matt!"

"No, no this is insane. We need to get some help," Emily suggested.

"Cut right in half!" Chris continued.

"Everyone stop!" Isaac yelled and Ashley and Chris cried softer. "Emily's right, we need to go get help now."

"We should go look for the others," Matt turned to his girlfriend.

"Mike and Jess are off somewhere, and who knows where Sam is."

"I think she's in the lodge," the bruised blond pointed to the main building in this maze.

"Fine, you're right, get everyone else together," Em agreed reluctantly, "But if there's a maniac running around, I think we need to get some help too right? Not just wait around?"

"But what about-"

"Why are we still talking about this? Let's go!"

"I'll go with you," I offered. Emily wasn't my favorite person in the world, but at least she had her head on straight. Our two groups of three split up, myself going with Matt and Emily, and Isaac, Chris, and Ashley going back to the cabin.

"I-I'm sorry about what I said at the lodge," Emily apologized half-heartedly .

"Don't pity me because my boyfriend's dead." I watched straight ahead, not wanting anyone's, especially _her_ , sympathy. We arrived at the cable car station entrance, but the latch on the gate wouldn't budge.

"Hey… it's locked. "Matt exclaimed. "What the hell? Who did that?"

"Whoever's doing all of this clearly doesn't want us to leave." I scoffed.

"I can't believed Josh is really dead," Em stated.

"I can't believe how he died," Matt agreed.

"No I mean, what if they were wrong?"

"What?" Matt asked shocked.

"Maybe we should have checked the shed to see if it was really true."

"I watched it happen. There are something's that once you see them, you never un-see them." I know I had wanted to go back before, but I didn't want the couple to have to see what I saw.

"Yeah. I guess… but something's you have to see for yourself." She persisted.

"Trust me when I say you don't." We had gone around the gate, but the building's door was locked too. Matt took down an axe that was stuck into the wall.

"I'll feel better with an axe."

"Well, break the door down will ya?" Emily commanded.

"Whoa, wait a second. We start smashing things down, he's gonna hear us." Matt warned.

"He has a point Em."

"You got any better suggestions?" She snapped at me.

"I dunno. What about… look!" Matt started.

"What?" Both Emily and I said together.

"A window."

"That's great Matt. I can just about fit my lip balm through that little slot." Emily sneered.

"I could fit," Finally my tiny size was useful. They helped me make the opening a little bigger. "Here it goes."

"Be careful."

"Man, its pitch black in here." It was really dark, but even though I couldn't see, I was able to make my way to the door without bumping into too many things. It took a moment to get the latch to move.

"You did it," Em congratulated, turning on the light, revealing the completely trashed station. "What happened?"

"This is crazy," Matt looked at all the boxes and papers thrown about.

"We were here like a few hours ago- this must have just happened."

"Like I said," I sighed, "someone doesn't want us to leave."

"It's gotta be the guy… the one who got to Chris and Ash… "Emily glance and me, "and Josh."

"He's gotta know this is the only way back." Matt looked back at us.

"Don't say that," Em whined.

"Look," I pointed toward the cable car which was suspended a good fifteen feet away from the landing. Emily turned to her boyfriend.

"Well that's… I mean that's not that far right? You can jump it?"

"I'm good Em, but not that good, flattered though."

"Well Matt, if you can't jump that, what are we gonna do?"

"I-I don't know."

The three of us went into what was the control room or something. Matt picked up some kind of map.

"Look, there's a fire tower, maybe we can radio out for help."

"Yeah, or we could get the cable car working," Emily snapped. I looked at the controls.

"That's not going to happen. No keys."

"Matt, we gotta get to that radio!" She panicked.

"We can use the radio to call for help. Somebody's gotta pick up the signal." Matt suggested.

"Well, someone's learning to play by the rules." Em remarked.

"What, what rules?"

"Rule number on, 'Emily is always right.' Rule number two, 'Nothing else matters because Emily is always right."

"Can we just go?" I rolled my eyes. We all looked around and Emily found a ladder attached to one of walls, but she couldn't reach it.

"What are you doing?" Matt knelt down to give her a boost.

"I'm getting us out of here Meat for Brains." She pulled and the ladder shot downward. Emily went first, then Matt, and I came last. "Look at this bad boy." She picked up a flash light. We shuffled across the narrow landing keeping close to the wall. She must not have been paying attention, because she reached the end and fell forward.

"Emily!" I shouted. Matt grabbed her before she could fall.

"You alright?" He brought her closer to him.

"Yeah uh… thanks… maybe um, you should go first. To protect me." She gasped We continued around the ledge.

"Almost."

"I'm felling kind of faint," Emily watched to ground, hundreds of feet below.

"Don't look down," Matt warned, but I couldn't help it either. I pictured myself falling, braking apart on the Earth.

"Jump!" Beth hissed, climbing up the twisted metal. I blinked and she disappeared.

"Thank god that's over," Em said, relieved to be back on safer ground, "Lex, come one." I shrugged off the vision and joined them.

"What if the radio doesn't work?" I asked.

"It'll work," Matt reassured.

"She's right Matt, we need a plan." Em agreed.

"Maybe, we can just climb down." He responded.

"Climb down what?" Em asked.

"The mountain," he suggested.

"Are you serious?"

"What's the big deal? It's not like it's floating in the sky." He snapped.

"Matt, we can't just climb down a _mountain_. Besides, who knows what's in those forests." I said softly. We crossed a wooden bridge that was barely hanging on to the side of the mountain. At the end of the bridge was a cliff. "I've been here before."

"What do you mean?" Matt wondered.

"I don't know," I looked at the broken sign on the ground, "But I know this place."

"Yeah, well I'd prefer not to spend my evening plummeting to my death off a snowy cliff top." Em sneered. There was a familiar shriek off in the distance and what appeared to be a hundred elk emerged from the trees.

"Relax, they're just deer." Matt remarked calmly. But I was anything but calm. The screeching echoed in my ears.

"Not real, it's not real," I whimpered, taking too many steps back. The jagged cliff cut into my stomach as I barely latched on to the slab of rock.

"Oh my god, Lexi, hold on!" Emily reached out to grab my hand.

"Hold on!" Beth's voice invaded my mind, followed by the feeling of cold, dead hands pulling on my ankles. _They aren't real._

"Come on!" Em yelled. I used all of my strength to grip her hand and pulled myself up. Matt walked forward and some of elk moved back.

"Just walk slowly. It's okay," He cautiously moved past them, creating a living path of deer for us, and the three of us continued up the trail.

"If we do manage to get someone on the radio," Emily started.

"We will."

"Then we tell them we need help. What do we do while we wait?"

"We go back to the lodge and get everyone else." Matt nodded at his words.

"Oh god, not the lodge," she whined.

"I'm not leaving Ashley," I growled, "or anyone else." The tower came into view, "Finally." A bright light flashed on.

"That's freaking bright; I can't see, what is that?"

"It's just a security light. Motion sensor probably." Matt answered. Shielding our eyes, we made our way up the stairs and up into the main station. Emily opened some kind of locker with a Missing poster on the door.

"Sorry Hannah… you're still missing." She tried to work the radio, "Great, no power."

"There's gotta be a switch around here or something," I went back out into the cold wind and turned on the fuse box. I decided to stay outside to think while Emily made the call. The cliff felt so familiar and I remembered the dream I had a year ago today. Maybe I knew more about Hannah and Beth's disappearance than I thought. Something caught my eye. The security light had turned on again. It must have been triggered and something told me it wasn't a deer.

"Hey guys," I went back inside, "I think there might be someone out-" the tower shook. The world turned on its side and Emily fell out a window. "Matt? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we need to help Em?" the tower crashed further into the ground.

"Matt! Oh my god, Matt help me please!" Emily was hanging onto the breaking railing.

"I'm coming!"

"We're gonna save you Em!" I promised.

"You've got to do something now, what are you waiting for?"

"I'm thinking!" Matt shouted, "Let me think!"

"Don't think you idiot, just get me outta here!"

"You're going to be fine Emily, Matt and I are going to get you out!"

"Yeah, you just take all the time you need, not like I'm going anywhere!" We started sinking down more and more. I caught a glimpse of a landing not too far away.

"Matt, jump over to the landing over there!" I pointed toward the safe wooden boards.

"What? Now, I'm not going to just leave you two!" He protested, "You go!"

"Come on Matt, we both know I'll never make that jump, but you can."

"What about Emily?"

"Please Matt, don't leave me here!" The damsel screamed.

"I'll help her, just go!" I think that these are mines, you should be able to find your way out."

Rocks crumble and the tower lurched forward, "Please Matt, Just go!" The jock reluctantly leaped to safety.

"Matt! Ah!" Em screamed before her fingers gave out, sending her into the pitch black unknown.

"Emily!" I called after her. Everything around me was either falling apart or in flames. "Oh god, Josh, forgive me!" I prayed. I managed one last "I love you," before the tower plummeted into the darkness, taking me with it.

 **Hey guys, so I'm not going to be able to upload as much, because everything I have posted was already edited, so it may take a while for the story to be edited and for me to type and then upload, so I apologize for the waiting. Also, when I was writing this chapter, I hadn't wanted Isaac to be a redeemable character, but here I go, making him some what nice. This is also when Ashley and Alexis's friendship starts to dwindle a little. I hope you guys enjoy!**


	7. Can't Remember How we Got Here

It took me a moment to look around and realize that I was alive. My foot ached as it held up the rest of my body while being caught in between two pieces of the railing.

"Lucky me," I muttered, dodging a flaming piece of wood. I heaved myself up, silently thanking Sam for making me rock climb all those years with her. Walking on the creaking bars was not a simple task and required balance that I did not have. After a few steps, they gave way, sending me to the hard cave ground, little pieces of metal cascading around me.

"Hello?" A voice called, "Lex, is that you?!"

"Emily, oh my god, you're okay!" I exclaimed, looking at the dangling girl.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" She shrieked. She was hanging from a thin rope that must have gotten caught on her ankle. "Get me down!" I searched for something she could land on.

"Do you think you can swing over to that ladder?" I motioned to a ladder that was near her.

"I think so," she started to sway back and forth and she just barely got a hold of the nearest rung, just in time before the cord snapped. "Now what?" she yelled.

"Try making your way closer to the ground."

"No dip, Sherlock!" A falling piece of debris almost hit her, causing one hand to lose grip on the rung. She wasn't able to regain her balance and fell. I rushed down the small hill I had landed on to help her, "I'm fine." She pushed my hands away. "Let's just find a way out of here. Look out!" A large rock sliced into the back of my shoulder blade. "Come on!" Everything started to collapse above us. Nearly ripping my arm out of its socket, Em yanked me out of the way before the tower crashed down, disappearing further into the mine.

"Thanks," I mumbled, "you've saved my life twice now."

"Yeah, well I guess you owe me," she snapped. Her expression turned from annoyed to somewhat sincere, "I am sorry about what I said. And for Josh."

"If I didn't watch it, I wouldn't believe he's gone," I responded blankly.

"I just-"

"Can we not talk about it? Please," I really didn't want to think about anything anymore. It was all just one big night mare I couldn't escape. With Matt gone, and hopefully safe, it was just the two of us, and Emily wasn't exactly the first person I would pick to be stuck in a cave with.

"I can't believe Matt just ditched us like that," she sneered.

"If I didn't make him, he would probably be dead. We're lucky to have survived."

"But I'm his girlfriend, how could he leave me to die?"

"He didn't leave either of us. He's probably still down here somewhere. Maybe we can still find him."

"No," she replied coldly, "he can figure his own way out." I rolled my eyes. "Besides, it's every woman for herself down here." _Gee, thanks._ I thought. She was right though. I needed to get back to Ash and Sam with or without her and Matt. I glanced around. We seemed to be in the belly of the beast down here and the only thing lighting up the darkness was the fiery pieces left behind the tower.

"It's pitch-black down here." Em whined.

"Here," I picked up a long piece of wood, ripped off a ribbon from my already town shirt, dipped them into some gasoline further away from the destruction, and lit them. "Viola."

"Great, now maybe we'll have a chance making it out of this hell hole." A shriek echoed in the distance, "What was that?" Em squeaked and I felt my eyes go wide.

"Wait, you heard it too?" _That's not possible._

"Do you know what it was?"

"No," I answered a little too quickly, "no way."

We arrived at a seemingly dead end with a big boarded-off entrance to another part of the mines. I tried to push through with my uninjured shoulder, but it was no use.

"Um… hello?" Emily sneered and pointed to an old cart at the top of the tracks going through the barricade.

"So?"

"Just move out of the way," she scoffed and marched up the incline. I shuffled away from the tacks as she pulled a lever and sent the cart smashing into the seal of planks. "You're welcome."

"Whoa," was the only thing I could mutter. This section of the tunnels was even darker and creepier than the last. A few feet in front of us was an elevator. We tried getting it to work, but there wasn't any power. "Up there," I pointed. I could see some kind of controls on a plat form above us. More screeches sounded and huge wave of fire came from a higher tunnel.

"What the hell?" Em exclaimed, but I decided to ignore it and continued to look for a way to get power.

"Over here." I called as I saw a ladder that led up to the platform. I held the torch as she climed it, but the ladder collapsed, falling into a dark hole, taking Emily with it.

"Emily! Hold on!" A tiny light, the flashlight on her phone, lit up at the bottom.

"Oh my god, gross, gross, gross!" She screamed.

"I'm coming Em!" I set down the torch and slid down the slick rocks.

"That's so disgusting!" Emily shined her light on the dozens of human skulls littering the ground. "What could have done this?"

"Maybe there was a cave in," I suggested, trying to keep from panicking. I was not going to have a break down in front of her.

"Yeah," she agreed, "cave in. These tunnels have to lead back to the elevator somehow." We followed the tunnels only to find more boards blocked off the exit. We started to push with our shoulders. "On three; one, two," we broke through together, entering another massive cave. "Weird." She examined a beat-up miner's hat.

I stared up at the climbable cave wall, "Can you make it?"

"We all did the rope thing in high school, remember?" She replied sassily. My shoulder begged me to stop as I leaped from hand-hold to hand-hold. The scratches on my stomach smacked against the stone-cold side as I latched onto the edge and heaved myself up. We crossed a narrow bridge tha was held up by giant metal pipes. I tried to forget about the shrieks that appeared to be getting louder. Em's cell phone suddenly beeped and the flashlight went out. "Great, no battery." Em sighed.

"You know, it would really suck if you were down here alone." I said as I pulled out my own phone, but froze when I saw my screen-saver. It was a picture of me at my graduation, arms wrapped around grinning Hannah and Beth, who were juniors at the time. Josh was behind us making a stupid face in his cap and gown. An unpreventable tear rolled down my face. The sickening echo of the saw and all the sounds of Josh's death thundered in my head, along with the twins' pleas for help.

"Um, earth to Alexis?" Emily snatched the cell out of my hand, "What is your prob-oh." She turned on the light and handed it back to me, "Sorry."

"No," I wiped away the stray tear and took a step forward, "I'm fine." More shouts were followed by another spurt of flames that wasn't far ahead of us.

"Maybe we should go back." She whispered and I shook my head.

"We have to keep moving." There was a stair case and I could see the ember of the torch I had left behind, "See, we-we're gonna be fine." Emily flipped the switch on the control box, turning on the power.

"Oh my god, finally something works," she sighed. We went down some kind of board walk, but it didn't lead to the elevator, just more caves. Bright light emerged from a large hold above us, leading out of the caves, but there was no way we were getting up that.

"Hey Em, wasn't the other half of this on the cliff?" I observed the broken 'Danger' sign. "How'd it get down here?"

"Probably some dumb caribou ran into it.' Em shrugged as she looked at something on an old oil barrel. "How did _this_ get down here?" she held up a picture.

"No," I breathed. The twin's smiling face stared back at me. The inscription 'When are you getting yours Beth?' was written on the back.

"Hannah?" Emily picked up a pair of glasses from the ground.

"That's not- it can't be," I put my hand on my forehead and backed away.

"There's more," she pushed a sheet of metal revealing numbers and tally marks _02-02-14._ "That's exactly a year ago. What does this mean?" A thought burned in my head, but I wasn't willing to listen.

"L-let's just go," I pleaded. She continued to investigate, lifting a cross made out of broken planks. _Beth 2-2-14._

"Beth, oh Jesus."

"Just a dream, just a dream, just a dream, all of this is just one big nightmare." I muttered low enough that Emily wouldn't hear me. We had reached the other side of the fence we passed earlier.

"She was down here." Em opened the small heart shaped locket Sam and I had gotten Hannah for Christmas. ' _To Hannah with love.'_

"Wake up!" I closed my eyes and pinched my arms, "Wake up!" We rolled a rusted gate out of our path. An escape was so close, but something caught Emily's eye. She tilted the small bundle of fabric and hair, letting out a blood curdling scream.

"Oh god, Beth no!" She fell and quickly turned away. I gaped at the severed head of the girl I once knew, her vacant eyes boring into mine. I face the truth I wanted so badly to deny.

"It was all real."

"What?" Emily grabbed my arm and tried to pull me away, but I didn't have control any more.

"They weren't nightmares, they were memories- at least part of them were." The cliff, the cries for help, the flames- one thing scared me the most; the screeching skeleton of a creature. I was _real._ "We need to get out of here, now!"

"The elevator's this way," Em hastily opened a door and we both rushed into the lift, which stopped the next floor up. I barely got a glimpse of the man with some kind of blow torch before she yanked me back behind a wall. "Don't move," she mouthed. "Oh god, please don't come this way." He stepped forward and we bolted.

"Get back here!" The stranger called.

It seemed we had lost him over the bridge. To be sure, Emily threw the torch down on some oil just in time for him to catch up. We ran right into a dead end.

"Hide," I hissed, dragging her into a gap between wooden panels. It led him right to us. He grabbed Emily by the arm.

"Shh! Quiet!" He commanded. His goggles and old coat seemed so familiar.

"No, stay away!" She screamed.

"Wait em, I know him."

"Use these and get the hell out of here now!" The man threw something to us and we plummeted into a shaft.

"Wait what?" She asked confuse.

"He was there, the night…" I trailed off, "he must have been the one that saved me."

"Save you from what?"

"You don't want to know." I looked into the case the stranger had given us. Inside was a flare. I took off the top sending sparks everywhere. "Alright," I handed it to her, "let's go." There was nothing but old mining equipment, nothing of use, so we dropped down to even more tunnels. "Does this place ever end?" I whined.

It was as if these chasms would go on forever. Because I was small, it wasn't to difficult to fit in a tiny opening between cave walls. Emily screamed, just barely dodging the non-human hand appearing out of the boards. I sprinted, recognizing the beastly claws as the same that nearly choked the life out of me a year ago.

"What is that?" Em lunged over the missing part of the bridge. I could see the ghostly creature scampering across the stone walls. A sign pointed left to the surface elevator. She crouched down as we slowly moved upward. "Breath in, breath out." She told herself.

The elevator stopped in some kind of warehouse. I yanked a chain, sending rocks tumbling across eh monster's path. Emily knocked over a barrel and lit the oozing black liquid with the flare. She switched on the mechanical assembly line and the two of us crawled to the top, me just missing the jump over the turning spikes below. She helped me as quickly as she could. The thing persisted. I locked the door and pressed my body against it, Emily doing the same. Its head crashed through, the teeth biting into her neck.

"Hurry!" I yelled, throwing myself out of a grime covered window, allowing her to take the zip line. My legs carried me faster than the speeding girl above me. Those years of track finally paid off. The freezing air burned my lungs, but it almost felt nice compared to the pieces of glass piercing my arms, side, and face. The lodge came into view and I slowed my pace, relieved. With everything that had happened tonight, I almost couldn't believe it was real. I brushed some of the smaller shards away from my cheeks, but I couldn't move the massive sliver stuck just underneath my ribs. The trees loomed over me, whispering their disapproval. I had no place going back after what I had learned. If only I realized that those visions were memories; that awful maze of wood and stone might not have been Beth and Hannah's final resting place.

Familiar blond tufts peaked out from the branches. I collapsed in Chris's arms.

"Alexis? What happened?" he observed my wounds.

"Don't worry about me. Are, Ashley, and Isaac okay?" I thought of my terrified red-headed best friend and the ex-boyfriend that had helped me.

"Yeah, we're fine. Sam's okay too." He winced at what he was about to say, "We um, we found him Lex."

"The psycho?" he nodded and the new strength of rage washed over me. "Where is he?"

"He's in the old barn with Mike." He watched me with caution, "There's something you need to know."

"Not now Chris." I pushed away from him and bee-lined for the shack where all of this nightmare started. I wanted to tear into the maniac who put me through this night. What would do this to a bunch of college students? We, or most of us, never hurt anyone. This evening's events will haunt every single one of us forever. This is one trip that we can never forget.

I reached the pen door and my world fell, hitting the ground in millions of tiny pieces. _It's not him. It can't be him._

 **So much Drama! I really hope you guys had a wonderful holiday (what ever you may celebrate) and have an amazing New Year! As you can see, things will escalate very quickly in the next chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one.**


	8. Used to Be Mine

"Josh," I stood there, breathlessly, "That's imposs- you're dead." I stumbled forward, feeling light-headed.

"Whoa there, take it easy," Mike put a hand in the small of my back to steady me. "You have to get back to the cabin." His eyes bulged when he saw the blood leaking from my side.

"No," my gaze never left the boy who wouldn't look at me.

"You need help," Mike motioned to the red slowly staining my shirt.

"No Michael, you need to leave."

"But-"

"Just go!" I snapped. He was about to protest, but he just looked at me sadly when the small trickle of water escaped my eyes.

"If he tries anything," he growled, "come get me."

"He won't do anything, please I need time to," my expression hardened, " _think_." Josh let out a nervous sound.

"Okay just," he sighed and kissed my forehead, "be careful."

"I will." As soon as Mike was gone, my stone-cold-stare went back to Josh.

"Lexi, I never wanted-" The sound of my palm slamming into his cheek silenced him.

"I watched you die!"

"Y-you weren't sup-supposed to be there," he stammered, "I never meant for you to be a part of any of this."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? To make any of this okay?" I yelled. "You made Chris, your best friend, think that he killed you."

"He chose Ashley over me." Josh remarked blankly. I slapped him again. "Stop it!" He shouted. I grabbed his hair and forced him to look at me. "I wanted them to feel everything my sisters felt after what they did to them.' He meant to sound angry, but his eyes betrayed him. They weren't vengeful or filled with hate; those sad baby blues revealed something far worse. He was lost. I thought of how I felt when I lost Hannah and Beth, but I never thought how he would deal with it. They were his little sisters. Suddenly I couldn't stand seeing him tied up like some kind of animal.

"Please, don't make me regret this," I moved behind the post he was tied to and undid the ropes that bound him. Arms instantly wrapped around me in a crushing hug.

"I never wanted anybody to die," he wailed into my shoulder. More worry filled my head.

"Wait, Josh, what do you mean you didn't want anybody to die? Who's dead?"

"M-Mike said that something dragged her through the woods and he saw her fall down an elevator shaft." He cried, "He thought it was me, but I swear, I didn't kill Jessica."

"Oh my god, Jess is dead?" My heard ached at the thought of Mike having to watch his girl friend fall to her death down a dark hole.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," I reassured him, brushing his tears away, unable to stop my own. "But I know what really killed her and we need to get off this mountain right now.

Sharp claws raked down the window with an ear-splitting sound. I shoved myself in front of him in panic. My body shook and my heart pounded in my ears. I had just gotten away from this demon and I wasn't about to let it take Josh.

"Not real, it's not real." He muttered as the beast crawled in the open door.

"Josh, I need you to run." I whispered, stepping forward, getting its attention. "Come get me!"

It swung its boney arm, mails slashing into my cheek. I hit the ground, my head throbbing. The creature crouched over me and shrieked, sending hot saliva splattering across my face. It brought its hand up, preparing the deadly blow. I closed my eyes and waited for the insanity to end. Nothing happened.

"Just kill me already!" I spat. A large plank of wood knocked the monster off of me. "Josh, what are you doing?" I screamed.

"Get the others out of here!" he shouted as the beast loomed over him, "I lo-" The thing slammed his head into the wall.

"Josh!" Its clouded eyes focused on me and I froze, but it was as if the creature couldn't see me. Voices murmured form outside and it jerked its head towards the noise. I crept out the back door. I waited for a moment before dropping to my knees next to Josh. "Josh… baby?" His eyes flickered, but he remained unconscious. "Please wake up."

"Alexis? Josh?" A voice called followed by someone shushing them.

"I'll come back for you." I stood up and went outside. The stranger Em and I met in the mines and Chris stood on the path. The beast was nowhere in sight.

"Lexi, you're alive," Chris whisper-shouted. I went over to them.

"Shh!" the old guy commanded, "Don't move, be very quiet." Everything was silent until Chris took a nervous stepped forward, snapping a branch beneath his foot. "Run!" The man took off with us close behind. At first, I was too panicked to think.

"Wait, I left Josh." I skidded to a halt, as did the others.

"Your friend is a dead man. We need to keep moving!" The stranger turned around, face to face with the monster. With a sickening slice and a thud, his body slumped forward and his detached head fell a foot behind, blood pooling in the snow.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked. Chris hit the savage with a bullet from his shot gun, giving us time to bolt. We ducked under a branch and he shot at it again. There was a short wall we jumped off of and Chris must have landed wrong. He whined for a moment, but kept running. I just jumped off of and Chris must have landed wrong. He whined for a moment, but kept running. _I just jumped out a window and we wanted to complain about falling off a three foot wall?_ I thought. He blasted the beast twice more before we reached the lodge entrance.

"Ash! Oh thank god, please let us in." he yelled and Ashley opened the door.

"Lex, Chris, oh my god what happened?" the small red head looked at our damage.

"We gotta go, that thing was like, right behind us." I grabbed her arm. It lunged at the door and the three of us went deeper down into the cabin to the basement. I tried to ignore the almost unbearable pains throughout my entire body and the large monitors on the wall showing different parts of the cabin.

"Guys, thank god," Emily exclaimed.

"What took so long?" Sam asked then she saw me. "What happened, Lex, are you okay?"

"Peach," I groaned.

"It's not so good up there right now," Chris declared.

"Understatement of the night," Mike sighed, coming to my aid.

"Yeah, no kidding," Isaac scoffed.

"Where'd you get the black eye?" I questioned, observing the purple blob where his eye was swollen.

"That freaking psychopath Josh," he snapped. _Josh._

"Chris, where's the flame thrower guy?" Sam wondered. My vision started to spin and my breath quickened. _I had deserted him. I promise I would go back for him._

"Ah yeah, he um," the other blond started.

"He didn't make it?" Ashley finished, eyes widening.

"What happened?" Sam persisted.

"The thing, it um- it tore him apart. Right in front of me," Chris sniffed. My body wobbled and Mike noticed.

"Alexis?" I collapsed. "Lex!" Everyone crowded around me. "She's losing blood! Someone get something to stop it!" Emily handed him a ribbon of fabric. He lifted my shirt slightly, revealing my battered stomach. "Okay, Lex, this is gonna hurt." He warned. I cried out as he pulled the long piece of glass from my side and quickly wrapped my torso in the gauze.

"I can't lose him again Mike." I wailed. "I just left him out there to die."

"We can't help him now." He responded sadly. After he made sure I was alright, he looked around. "Are these all the doors?"

"Yeah," Sam replied.

"Are you sure?"

"What are you looking for?"

"Another way out."

"Mike… I really don't think that's a good idea. We should stay put right here until-"

"No," I interrupted, back on my feet. "I have to go back and find Josh, m-maybe it hasn't… killed him yet."

"We're safe down here," she argued.

"Oh yeah, all wrapped up like a little present with a bow on top for that thing to tear us apart on Christmas morning?" Mike barked.

"People will come for us." I had no idea how Sam was so calm. "In the morning."

"You don't sound so sure." He snapped.

"That's what'll happen, right Em?" She looked at the dark haired girl for support.

"Yeah… I mean… right?" Emily answered wearily.

"Well you can wait." Mike stomped away with me following. "I'm leaving."

"Mike, Lex, there's no key for the cable car." Em warned.

"Josh," Mike said pointedly, "he's gotta have it."

"Josh?" Sam scoffed.

"One of his dirty little tricks," Mike glances apologetically at me. "It that thing got a hold of Josh… then… we're out of luck."

"God, don't say that," I sighed. "What are those things anyway?"

"That guy called them wendigos." Isaac answered.

"It may have taken him down to the mine," Emily suggested.

"What?"

"Lexi and I saw some horrible stuff down there… I think it's where it lives…huh" she picked up a book.

"I'm gonna get that key and then I'm gonna get us all the hell out of here." Mike stated.

"I'm coming with you… maybe I can still save him." I stared at nothing, thinking of everything the monster could have done with him. Mike looked at me, but seemed too tired to object.

"Em, what's that?" Sam asked.

"That old guy's bag," Em said curiously.

"Is it a map?" Mike watched over her shoulder.

"That guy was prepared for anything." Sam gawked

"Not quite." I added gravely. "What is this place?" I studied the map.

"Oh my god, I was down there." Mike backed away. "It was horrible."

"You were?"

"Some of them survived… but like fifteen of em' didn't make it. I found these plans- they knew the mine was a death trap, but they let the miners keep working anyway."

"Michael, I'd like to maybe focus on how we're going to get out of here please." Em sneered.

"I'm just saying- it's weird how much insane crap's gone on up here."

"What's weird is that there's a tunnel leading from the lodge to the sanatorium, see?" Em pointed to a line on the map.

"That's how I got back here." He started.

"I saw this when we down there." She nodded to herself, "that's where it lives." Ashley put a hand on her shoulder, but quickly withdrew it.

"Em, what is that?" she looked at the bite on Emily's neck, "Oh my god, oh no, oh no."

"It's nothing, it just- it bit me."

"It bit you? What bit you?" Ash shouted.

"Calm down Ashley, we were running form the wendigos, but it's not a big deal," I clarified, "unless…"

"It doesn't hurt anymore, really," Em looked at all of us. "It's not that bad."

"Em…" Mike started angrily, "if that thing bit you…"

"I know what you're thinking and I'm fine," she assured him.

"Are you?" Isaac entered the conversation. "At least let us check it out."

"Emily, if the wendigo bit you," Mike continued, "you could turn into one of those things."

"Hold on," I defended, "we don't know if that's how it works. Let's just think about this for a minute."

"He said it was from eating each other- remember, he said that!" Ashley panicked. "You're gonna turn into one and then you're going to turn on us, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"

"Ashley wait," I tried to calm her down. Mike faced Emily coolly.

"You can't be down here with us."

"Mike!" I exclaimed.

"You gotta go." He commanded.

"Are you kidding me?" Em cried.

"You're putting us all in danger."

"Like hell I am!"

"Emily… you can't stay here."

"Mike, if she goes out there she'll die!" I pleaded, grabbing his arm.

"I've seen what these things can do," Chris muttered. "I don't want to see it again."

"Chris, Ash, maybe it's just a bite," now I was panicking.

"What is this, guys, what are you doing?" Em frowned.

"Door's right here," Mike gestured to the exit, "I'm letting you do this voluntarily."

"Oh no," she stepped closer to him angrily, "you're just making yourself feel better about sending me to my death since you know there's a wendigo out there ready to rip me to pieces like it did with-"

"Okay, oh my god, will you just go?" Ash whined. "Go, get out of here!"

"Ashley, stop it, we are going to be fine!" I ordered. Emily didn't budge. That's when Mike picked up the pistol. The last time I'd seen Mike with a gun was my junior year when he took me to the shooting range as our third date, but it was never pointed at someone.

"Whoa, Mike calm down," Sam tried to calm him, but he shrugged her off.

"You're going to shoot me?" Em gasped. "Mike… me?"

"This is the safe room, Em!" He shouted, "It's not safe as long as you're in it. Not for us."

"Please," she backed into the cork board where Josh had his plans for the stupid prank and pulled herself onto the table. "Don-don't do this."

"I'm really sorry," he took aim and she shrunk into the wall. There was only one way I could think of to stop him.

"Mike, don't." I stepped in between them, starring down the barrel of the pistol."Put the gun down." He seemed taken back, but he stood his ground.

"She's going to turn into one!" His hands shook.

"Mike, look at me." I pointed to the claw marks on my cheek, "Look at this. If you think a bite will turn her, then maybe a scratch can too. If you're going to kill Em, than you better shoot me too, because who knows right?!" I screamed

"Get out of the way Alexis." He ordered sternly.

"I know that you especially don't want to lose any more friends," I looked him dead in the eye, "She would want us to all get out of this mess, _together._ " Mentioning Jess was below the belt, but it got him to put the gun down. He paced around the room.

"You did the right thing," Sam comforted.

"I hope you did," Ashley said angrily.

"Maybe," Mike sighed, "for now." He looked around the room, "Keep an eye on her… if you see anything weird… you guys know what to do. No one leave, okay?"

"I'm going with you." I repeated.

"It's not safe out there." He warned

"Not to safe in here either," I snapped. He nodded toward the rest of the group.

"We'll be back soon."

 **Hey guys, I hope you liked this chapter. I haven't quite figured out a ship name for Josh and Alexis (or Mike and Alexis, if you like them together), so I thought I could use your guys' help. Please let me know what you think would work in the review section. Thanks.**


	9. Pass Me the Kerosene

The hallway was dark and damp, but I knew that it was the least of my worries. I shivered unintentionally in my torn-to-shreds sweater.

"Here," Mike shook off his army jacket which I had no idea where he got.

"I knew you wouldn't shoot her," I tried to get him to look at me.

"Really, cause I wasn't so sure," he growled.

"What is this place?" I asked searching the room we had entered. There were shelves and boards against the filthy walls. "What _was_ this place?"

"It was a sanatorium or asylum or whatever." We climbed some sketchy looking stairs and I noticed the bloody bandages on his missing fingers.

"Oh my god, what happened?"

"Oh that," he observed his hand with little interest, "my hand got caught in some kind of trap when I was down here earlier. I did what I had to do." We came to the main hall of some sort. "Huh, where are the wolves." He looked at the part of the ceiling that had caved in. we went through a grated door, finding a massive part of the wall gone, its pieces scattered about, leading outside. The icy breeze bit at my face as I dragged my feet through the snow.

"Holy hell," Mike observed the cluster of gravestones sticking out of the ground. Fences blocked any way out. "There were more doors inside, come on." The only door that led anywhere wouldn't budge. We paced around and I glanced into a room with a gun and bullets on the table. I tried to open the gate, but it was locked from the inside. The landing above, however, didn't seem too high up.

"Hey Mike, give me a boost," I motioned for him to help.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You just about passed out ten minutes ago. I'll do it."

"Yeah well, I'm fine now. We both know I can't lift you."

"Okay," he sighed, locking his fingers together. The ledge was further than I had expected, so I had to grab a long cement fixture and tried to pull myself up. The pains in my shoulder and side were almost unbearable and I had to stop and hang there for a moment to catch my breath.

"That's it," Mike worried, "Come down."

"No, it's okay it's just… I can do this." I swung my legs up and over the banister. I looked down at Mike and stuck my tongue out at him.

"Show off!" he grinned. I dropped down into the room, the impact shooting through my legs. I winced and opened the door.

On the table was a torch, a shot-gun, and a case of bullets. Mike took the gun and ammo, while I lit the torch with a lighter I had found in the pockets of the jacket. I took the flashlight from him and put it in one of the deeper pockets of the jacket.

"Good enough," he remarked, turning back to face the closed gate. "Let's go." He pointed the gun at the lock. The shot echoed through the entire room.

"Great, it probably heard us now," I hissed.

"Which is why we need to keep moving."

"I don't know Mike, maybe we should go back to the others."

"Lex," he took me by the shoulders, "we have to get that key." I looked at the ground.

"Do you really think he's… gone? I mean… he's gotta be okay, right?" Hot tears stung the cuts on my face. "He can't be… not like that. I can't lose him again Mike."

"God, Alexis," he brushed away my tears with his thumb. "What about what he did… to Ashley, to Chris," I could see the anger in his eyes, "to you?"

"I realize what he did… but he was left alone. While I was busy wallowing in self-pity, he had to deal with the grief of losing his sisters by himself. Maybe if I was there for him… things may have been different." For a moment I thought Mike was mad at me for being so selfish. Why should Josh live and he still loses Jess? "It's all my fault." He silenced me by pulling me into a hug.

"None of this is your fault." He whispered into my hair, "Josh isn't Josh anymore. You didn't hear the things that he said."

"He saved me, Mike. That thing was going to kill me, and he stopped it. Then it went after him." I cried. "He can't be dead, Mike, he just can't." A small bark interrupted us. Mike turned away from me and smiled.

"Hey big guy," he said, bending to pet the wolf. "Happy to see me again, huh?" the animal seemed almost as excited as he was. "You're comin with me."

"Are you sure Mike? It's a wolf." I remarked skeptically.

"Yeah, he's fine, might even help us find a way out of here. Alright, here's the plan," he seemed to be explaining it to the dog, "we happened to see of this place, so we're not flying blind. There should be a way through the psychiatric wing that'll take us right outside the mine." He smiled down at the hound, "Think we can handle that?"

"Again Michael, it's a wolf. It can't understand you," I stated. To my surprise, the mutt growled at me before turning to lead the way.

"You were saying?" Mike grinned. The hound led the way into a tunnel of fence. I felt uneasy, being so trapped. The building we entered was no better. The building we entered was no better. The wolf began to snarl at something in the distance.

"Mike?" I squeaked.

"Calm down," he commanded the both of us. It moved ahead quickly, "Wish I could move like you wolfie." He sighed.

"Don't we all… Mikie," I finished with a smirk. The dog had gone through a space small enough that only it could fit. "Looks like we're stuck on the side." Mike pulled a lever, closing the door behind us and opening the one in front. It had only opened a small bit, but Mike had no difficulty getting though. I however had a problem fitting my… um… _chest_ through the tine slot.

"Little help here, Michael?" I huffed. He laughed at my predicament. I tried to push the bars further open, but they wouldn't budge. "Seriously, get me out of here."

"How could I deprive this fine damsel of rescuing?" He snickered, moving the door out. My uneasy feeling heightened as we went down a dark staircase, the torch being the only tin illumination of our path. The returning wolf trotted along next to Mike. Its growls grew louder when it saw the other dog, falling to pieces hanging on the gate.

"Oh my god… poor thing," I observed the large cut down its belly, revealing bones and intestines. Its head was barely attached to the rest of its neck. Some of its insides had fallen on to the floor.

"What have we gotten ourselves into?" Mike sighed. Visions of death filled my mind. Ashley's head on the concrete. Chris's blood staining the snow. Isaac's limbs in a sickening heap. Josh's face torn to shreds.

"Make them go away," I pleaded. I looked at the ground, finding Beth's cold, dead eyes staring back at me. I screamed and Mike took my face in his hands.

"Come on, don't lose it on me now, Lex." His puppy-dog brown eyes searched mine, filled with worry. "It's not a good time to have a break down."

"You're right," I sniffed and nodded. All I had to do was keep it together for a little longer. I just prayed that there wouldn't be any more gory triggers of panic. "Let's just… get out of here." We went through more rooms with more destroyed hospital equipment. Every minute wandering around the halls felt like an hour. A bright light peaked through cracks in a big wooden door that the both of us had to push open. Behind it was a room that looked like a jail cell. Inside was the slumped over figure of a body. Mike spent another bullet opening the door.

The rotting body of a man slouched in a chair with a note under his decrepit hand.

They are dying outside. I hear them screaming and crying. This hell is my only legacy. God's punishment for my mistakes. No escaping my fate. Death awaits me now.- Jefferson…

The last name was unreadable. The words toward the bottom tilted downward, as if his hand was falling off the page as he was writing.

"It looks like he wrote this while he was dying," I observed.

"Judging by what it says, he probably was." While he searched the room, I rummaged through a desk in the hall. A confidential folder caught my interest. Inside was a picture of a normal guy, scowling at the camera. I flipped to the next picture. In it, the man had begun morphing into something I quickly recognized as a wendigo. I braced myself for the next photo, finding the man luning at the camera, completely unrecognizable as human.

"Jesus hot sauce Christmas cake." Mike glance over my shoulder.

"What the hell does that even mean?" I casted him an amused look. He simply shrugged and strode off. We went back down the hall way and a sign indicated that we were entering the B-wing.

"There you are," Mike murmured at the wolf whose absence I hadn't even noticed. A monstrous cry echoed through the halls.

"Mike," I whimpered, grabbing his arm. A small box shifted. Mike pointed the gun at it, but put it down when a rat ran from beneath the crate. We turned around, coming eye to eye with a screeching wendigo.

"Holy-" A bullet ripped out of the shot gun, into the beast's chest. I bolted across the room, Mike close behind. The two of us went left into a small office-looking space. I slammed the door and threw down a locker to block it.

The monster's hideous face shot through the broken bars on the door. Mike shoved me out of the way and hit the wendigo with the blood splattered machete I didn't realize he was carrying. It must have been what he cut his fingers off with. Mike pulled me through another door which he then locked.

"How in the hell-"I gawked at the hound that had somehow gotten there before us.

"Good dog." He patted the mutt's head and turned to me. "It's okay, we're gonna be fine." More movement caught my eye.

"Get down," I yanked him down behind a table and stools. The creature glanced around, not noticing us. I snatched a rolling bottle before it hit the ground. The beast leaped onto the table next to ours and onto the one after that. We snuck around the room, careful not to catch the wendigo's attention.

"Alright," Mike sighed. I tried to keep the hallucinations out of my head, but Mike's profanity wasn't helping. The mysterious silence didn't help either. I backed into the bars of a cage of some sort and quickly realized my mistake and pushed away before the inhabitant could claw off my arm. More skeletal arms reached out of the cells, unable to touch us. "One at a time, boys. There's enough of me for all a'ya." Mike sneered, gun ready. A hand clamped around my ankle and pulled me to the ground. Mike shot the creature without a second thought.

"You okay?" He asked, helping me up.

"I think so," My heart felt like it was about to burst, but yeah, I was fine. Another monster lunged out, but it had been chained to the wall. The free beast came around the corner, followed by a second. Mike rammed into the door in front of us, but it only opened slightly.

"Give me the gun," I commanded.

"What?"

"Just give it to me!" He obeyed and I knocked over a barrel and rolled it toward the two, praying its contents were what I thought they were. Instead of firing at the creatures, I fired at the barrel between them, sending flames erupting out of it. The blast knocked both Mike and I over. A shrieking ball of fire soared over us. "The wendigo spirit," I muttered. Thankfully the door was blown open and led us up stairs. Tiny white flecks flew through the air. I had never been happier to see snow in my life.

"Oh come on!" Mike shouted as the surviving wendigo continued it pursuit. We sprinted into a room and barricaded the door before running. Mike jumped into the large hole in the ground first and helped me down. "Come on buddy," He called to the wolf, "it's alright." The mutt simply backed away and scampered off into the darkness. "Catch ya on the flip side, huh?" Mike said sadly. We kept going, jumping off the ledge and running up more steps. The only exit wouldn't budge. Two more god forsaken monsters screamed at us. This time, Mike shot a barrel, causing a chain reaction of explosions. A hot wave of pressure blew us out the door. More fiery spirits flew into the air as the entire building was engulfed in flames.


	10. Long Way Down

I had made a mental promise to myself when I was down here with Emily to never go back down to the mines. But a lot of promises were broken and dreams shattered tonight, so to them we went.

"Are you sure you want to come with me?" Mike asked, his voice sad a tired.

"Do I look like I'm about to turn tail and ditch you?" I rolled my eyes playfully.

"It's just that… it's like you said before, I don't want to lose anyone else tonight." He looked meaningfully at the path ahead. It was so quiet the sound of the branch breaking beneath a claw was deafening. I turned just in time to see the flaming wendigo barreling towards us.

We ran to the big metal entrance to the mine, Mike trying to close the door behind us. Its blazing hands latched onto the entrance and knocked open the door. The inflamed monster tackled me to the ground, claws slicing at my face. I barely got a glimpse at the shocked blond.

"Hey fatty! Over here!" Sam shouted. She smacked the beast with a metal bar. It stood to attack, but she moved faster, hitting it again, the beast's scalding head was sent flying into the snow. Mike quickly shut the door and used the empty gun to make sure nothing else would be getting in.

"You okay?" he stuck out his hand to help me up, but I didn't need it.

"Uhh… define okay?" Sam snapped.

"Alive for a start," Mike glanced at me, then back at her, "the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"I was gonna warn you about the wendigos."

"We found that out soon enough," I laughed, brushing the ash off my torn jeans. I pulled the small blond into a hug. "I am so glad to see you right now."

"I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you two again." She smiled, taking my hand and started to lead me into the caves. The damp walls reverberated every small step we took, turning a small pitter-patter into thundering stomps. As the three of us made our decent, the voices in my head didn't seem to be in my head anymore.

"I don't take orders from you," the voice was almost too quiet to notice.

"Did you hear that?" I turned to the others.

"You can't tell me what to do," it continued.

"Hear what?" Mike wondered, clearly getting a little worried.

"I trust you," the speaker became recognizable.

"That," I started walking faster toward the sound. My pace quickened when the whispers turned to screams.

"I didn't want you to die," hearing Josh's voice was both relieving and heartbreaking. "I swear." More shouts followed.

"Lex wait!" Sam called.

"Leave me alone! Why are you doing this?" Josh yelled. Small but strong hands wrapped around my arms.

"Alexis, there is nothing there," Sam said sternly.

"Yes there is, y-you're just not listening." I cried. Sam gripped my wrists as we reached an underground lake. She cringed and hopefully looked for another way around. "Mike…" fear spread across her face as she stared at a pile of long white rocks. "Is that what I think it is?" No, no rocks… bones.

"It looks like a grave," he sighed. Sam picked up a strap of leather and gaped at the back. _Beth W._

"Oh god," she panicked. "This is Beth's. This is her watch."

"What?" Mike exclaimed, "Let me see." They both observed the watch.

"There was a cross here," Sam perceived.

"I've seen it," I commented blankly. "This is where the rest of her body was buried.

"The rest, what do you mean the _rest_?" Sam asked.

"Em and I found Beth's," I took a deep breath, "we found her head."

"Oh my god!" the other girl cried. "Well- if she was buried, then who dug her up?"

"I don't think I want to know." I muttered putting an end to the conversation.

"Let's keep moving," Mike sighed.

The water was like dropping into a pool of ice. The entire bottom half of my body went numb in a matter of seconds. Sam was hesitant.

"Come on, it's okay." Mike reassured her.

"Are you sure?" she didn't move.

"I'm not dead yet." He shrugged.

"Famous last words," she mumbled, sliding in. "I can't feel my fingers," she whined. The bottom of the lake started to drop and I had to kick my numb legs to keep afloat. "Wait a minute," Sam noticed the depth change. "I thought you'd reached the deepest part."

"I didn't say that," Mike corrected, "I said it was okay, meaning like there weren't any sharks or anything in here."

"I'm pretty sure sharks are the least of our worries." I snorted, my teeth chattering. I made my way over to a ledge that led nowhere. "Hold on guys, I just need out for a minute before my toes freeze off."

"Yeah, okay." Sam agreed. We all pulled ourselves up onto the rock. White paper stuck out from the dark ground. It was a journal.

"This looks like Hannah's writing," Mike observed.

"My little sister is dead," I read the first line. "The fall killed her. I watched the color drain from her face." My eyes grew hot with tears. "Oh my god, Hannah s-she didn't die." Sam turned a few pages.

"I'm sorry Beth… I have no choice," she read in a quiet voice, "It's the only way I can survive anymore. If someone finds this, I'm sorry." Her voice cracked. "I had to… I had no choice."

"What does it mean?" Mike asked, clearly not wanting an answer, "Jesus." We read the next two pages, listening to Hannah describe the transformation. _Hungry. Hungry. Hungry._

"She turned into one," I whispered. "Hannah dug up Beth and the s-she ate- she ate her own sister. Her twin."

"No," Mike shook his head, "that's ridiculous."

"Michael, it has to be," Sam agreed. "It's the only thing that makes sense. Beth died in the fall."

"So what- what does that mean?" Mike still wouldn't listen.

"So Hannah buried her," Sam continued. "Hannah was down here… for…"

"I don't believe any of this!" He shouted.

"Why Michael?" I snapped, thoughts of blame forming in my head. "Do you feel it? The guilt? After all, you were the reason Hannah was out there in the first place." He expression morphed into realization and hurt.

"Alexis I-"

"You know what Mike? All this time I've been blaming Emily and Jess for what they did, but I forgot about the star player."

"Alexis, that's enough!" Sam brought her hand down on my shoulder, causing a stinging pain form the gash. I couldn't stop the tears from pouring down my face like rainfall.

"Well guess what Michael!" I screamed. "You may have been the reason she ran, but I'm the one who never saved her. I'm the reason she was stuck down here!"

"What do you mean?" Mike questioned.

"They weren't just dreams Mike." I told him and Sam about the nightmares and what Em and I discovered in the mines. "If I had realized everything was real sooner, I could have saved Hannah." They both stared at me for a moment and then looked at each other.

"We need to go find Josh," Sam commanded gently, "Right now." We entered back into the bone chilling water and waded past the unmoving mill.

"We're gonna make it," Mike assured, more to himself then to us.

"God, don't jinx it!" Sam groaned. We hopped out of the freezing lake and Sam opened a big metal door, letting more liquid splash through. She let out a scream when the freshly severed head landed at my feet. It was the flame-thrower guy, but half of his face was already decaying, showing the skull underneath.

"Do you see that?"Sam shone her headlight to the ceiling, where the old man's body swayed on a hook.

"I'm gonna be sick." Mike gagged, turning away. I started to hyperventilate as more bodies appeared. Matt, with the hook through his chin. Emily, with a bullet hole in her eye. Even I was up there, the lower half of my body torn to shreds by the spikes of the warehouse. "Hold one," Mike peered through the boards separating us from the next part of the mine. "I think I saw something." Sam and I looked as well.

"No… no no… I don't… I don't take orders from you," Josh cried. We all went through a wood door and ran towards him.

"Hey Josh," Mike exclaimed, but it was like he couldn't see us." Josh?"

"You can't tell me what to do anymore."

"Buddy?"

"What's the matter with him?" Sam asked.

"His tripping or something." I flinched as Mike slapped Josh, just hard enough to snap him out of it.

"M-Mike?" He stuttered. "Don't hit me p-please."

"Josh!" I collapsed into his arms. "I knew you'd be okay." I sobbed into his chest. "I knew you wouldn't leave me."

"Alexis?" He pushed me back to make sure it was really me. "You-you're really here?"

"It's me Josh, and I'm never leaving you again." I cupped his face in my hands and pulled him into a kiss, forgetting about the other two.

 **Sam and Josh are back. Yeah! Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that a lot is going to happen in the next chapter and I wanted to thank you all for sticking with me this far.**


	11. Where Did I go Wrong

**I really don't have much of a note for this chapter, but as I said before, a lot is going to happen. Hope you enjoy.**

"Josh," Sam sighed when we backed away from each other, "Hannah was down here for… weeks, a month. She dug Beth up."

"Sam don't." I pleaded.

"He deserves to know Lex. They were his sisters." She continued to tell him everything we had discovered. His expression remained blank.

"Let's just get out of here." Mike suggested.

"Okay. Josh, do you have the keys to the cable car?" Sam asked.

"Oh, um yeah." He dug around in his pockets and handed her the small key, "Here."

"Good," She pointed at the light shining from above us. "You see that? That means there's a direct way out of here." Josh clutched my arm and walked slowly beside me. We reached a steep wall the led out of the cave.

"Seems climbable," I shrugged.

"There's no way Josh is getting up there." Mike glanced at the boy clinging to me.

"Okay," Sam though for a moment. "If you help me and Lex up, we can go back to tell the others we're okay."

"Yeah, okay." Mike agreed. I didn't move from Josh's side.

"You s-should go with S-Sammy." Josh released my arm and gave me a soft shove forward. His eyes begged me to stay.

"I told you, I'm not leaving you again," I could tell mike was about to protest so I used my injuries as an excuse. "Besides, I'd never make it up anyway with this shoulder." Sam nodded.

"You two bring Josh back the way we came and we'll all meet at the lodge."

"Be careful," Mike warned, giving her a boost.

"You too." With that, the small blond was figuring out the best way to get up the rock wall.

"You didn't have to hit me so much man." Josh whined, a tiny smile playing at his lips.

"Ah yeah…" Mike laughed awkwardly, "sorry about before. I thought you killed Jess." His mood darkened, "I was wrong." I rubbed his shoulder.

"How you holdin' up?" I hadn't gotten the chance to ask him about Jessica.

"It's- none of it seems real," he looked at me sadly, "If I had just been a little faster, a little stronger… I could've saved her." We passed under the body which I tried not to look at. Josh avoided it was well. We came back to the dreaded ice lake and slid in. The water shocked Josh at first, but he kept going.

"I- it is so _freaking_ cold." I shivered.

"Here," Mike handed me the torch, the warm fire lighting up my face. We waded a little farther until something pulled Mike under the water.

"Mike!" I screamed. A wendigo leaped out of the water, the black ink of a butterfly tattoo sticking out from its pale skin.

"Hannah?" Josh exclaimed. My entire body went still, but Josh shook in fear. The beast lifted him out of the water, choking him. I stood there helplessly, trying to figure out how to save him. A bead of sweat ran down my face and I glanced at the fire I was holding. I remembered the flaming wendigo spirits that the only thing that had killed them was in my hands.

"Sorry Hannah!" I shouted before throwing the torch in the monster's face. The wendigo panicked, clawing at the scorching fire inflaming its head. Josh was dropped back into the lake with a splash.

My diversion lasted long enough for me to drag the cowering Josh behind one of the walls of the cavern. He opened his mouth, but I put my finger to his lips to silence him.

"Don't move," I whispered as quietly as possible. He nodded. The creature disappeared under the water and crawled out of the cave.

"I think we're okay," I sighed.

"My little sister," Josh mumbled, "is one of them?"

"Oh Josh," I cried, pulling him into my arms. "I'm so sorry."

This is all my fault… isn't it?" He pushed me away and stared at me with big, terrified eyes.

"I'm not going to sugar coat it, but… you are the reason we came back here in the first place. And all for that stupid prank." He turned his head away, but I forced him to look at me. "But you had nothing with what happened to Hannah and Beth."

"I should've been there for them. I'm their big brother, I was supposed to protect them." Tears spilled from his eyes unto his face.

"You couldn't have known." I comforted, "None of us knew any of it was going to happen." A hand clasped around my ankle and I let out a small yelp. I kicked the water until I hit something hard. Mike came out holding his now bloody nose.

"Relax, it's just me. "He whined, "I think you broke it."

"Then don't go around grabbing someone in a situation like this!" I hissed.

"Whatever, let's just get out of here," he ordered.

"Lexi," Hannah wailed, "Stay down here with me. Don't leave me alone," her face contorted with hate, "like you did last year."

"Stop it," I mumbled. Josh seemed to be dealing with demons of his own, for he was whispering into the dark. I gripped his hand tighter. Mike shined the flashlight on the door where the gun still held it in place.

"Finally," he exclaimed. I tried to look happy for Josh.

"We're getting out," I told him. His eyes met mine.

"O-okay," he stuttered. Mike opened the door and put a hand on Josh's shoulder to help lead him out. The cold air stung my freezing, wet body. We all shivered.

A few minutes down the path, an unholy shriek echoed form all around us and it sounded close. Mike ran ahead, but slowed for me and a limping Josh to catch up. It felt like hours before we reached the cabin, a panicking Sam franticly pounding at the door.

"Come on! Open up!" She shouted. "Guys are you in there?"

"Sam, "Mike sighed, causing her to jump. She looked at his face.

"Oh gosh, you look terrible."

"Gonna look worse if we stay out here." He looked behind us at the woods. Sam glanced at me and Josh and picked up a rock, breaking the glass of the door. She carefully opened it and we all stepped inside.

"We should look for everyone else," I suggested. The four of us wandered about the lodge.

"How would you rate our chances of survival?" Sam asked when we entered the theater.

"I'm trying not to think about it," Mike answered.

"Run!" Ashley screamed.

"Get outta here!" Chris yelled, "Go go go!" Emily pushed Ash out of the way to get through, Isaac close behind. The four sprinted past us to get away from the two wendigos coming at the door. I dragged Josh with me and ran up the stairs.

"You deserve this!" Hannah screamed in my ear. "You left me to die in that hell hole!" Mike stopped suddenly and I nearly ran into him.

"Don't move," he commanded as Sam caught up with us. The creature that was once Hannah gripped the metal fixture hanging from the ceiling. Sam stood perfectly still and the best saw something else. The other two wendigos leaped up the stairs. The three looked at each other for a for a moment before the first one attacked Hannah. The creatures wrestled and the one with the tattoo threw the other into the fire place, snapping its back and breaking the gas pipe. Both Mike and I glanced at it.

The second lunged at Hannah and the two collided in the air, landing on the floor. She ripped the other's head off and tossed it aside. Josh's eyes went wide and he started to shake. Victorious, the lone wendigo wandered around the room, looking for pray. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Chris and Isaac run out the door. Sam made her way across the living room without being seen. She was the last to escape after Emily and Ashley. That just left me, Josh, Mike, and the thing that wanted to kill us. Josh I snuck closer to the exit, Mike doing the same from the other side of the room. A board creaked under Josh's foot and we were cornered. I stuck my hand in the jacket pocket and pulled out a lighter. I started the pipe that was leaking flammable gas into the room. The monster's cold, clouded eyes bored into mine, its skin chard and peeling.

"Get out of here," I mouthed at Mike. His eyes widened when he saw the light in my hand.

"Alexis, no," he hissed. "There's gotta be another way."

"It's too late," I whispered as soon as the monster turned away, "Please, I need you and Josh to be safe."

"What about you?" He asked his voice cracking.

"I'll stay and do what has to be done." I took a step forward, my foot getting caught on a loose board. I scramble to hide behind a wooded post. The lighter was sent skidding across the floor. I felt hot breath on my neck and carefully leaned away from the wendigo that was next to my face. Its screech seemed like it was splitting my eardrum. I watched as the ticket out was picked up by a bloody and bandaged hand.

"Josh," Mike said loud enough for both Washingtons to hear, "Make sure Alexis leaves." He backed further into the lodge. Josh took my hand.

"Michael Monroe I am not leaving you in here!" I whisper-shouted. The beast seemed confused on whome to attack.

"Josh, get her out now!" he commanded. Josh trembled and nodded. "Hey!" Mike yelled at the wendigo and Josh started to pull me toward the door. I wanted so badly to fight him, but I knew I would just get us both killed. We were half way down the stairs before I turned around to go back. That's when the cabin exploded.

The next thing I knew, I was laying in the snow, all breath completely knocked out of me, and the lodge was up in flames. Everything was in a haze; all movements were blurred and all sounds crashed together. As soon as I could stand, I was sprinting back inside, the metal of the door knob burning my hand.

"Mike!" I shouted into the fire, trying to make my way around the burning limbs of the dead creature. Its spirit soared passed me into the air. Every breath I took filled my lungs with scorching smoke. A crumpled and burnt body laid a few feet in front of me. "Mike!" I coughed and I thought I saw the arm move. Arms wrapped around my middle and pulled me out of the way before a huge beam fell right where I had been standing. I screamed as one of its splinters cracked and pierced its way into my leg.

"I've got you," Josh whispered into my hair, "you're gonna be okay." The sudden cold breeze hurt almost as much as the searing air had. I coughed and a black puff came from my mout. Blood stained the snow as it gushed from my leg.

"Alexis?" Sam joined Josh and her green eyes appeared over me.

"Please be okay," Josh cried, "you're gotta be okay."

"He's still in there," I wheezed, "Someone needs to help him." I coughed again. My head felt almost as filled with smoke as my lungs. A helicopter buzzed overhead. Josh moved my head onto his lap. My conscientiousness started to flicker.

"Stay with me," Josh pleaded, "I can't lose you too, please, just stay with me."

"Come one Lex," Sam panicked, "Can we get some help over here?" A bright yet calm glow obscured my vision.

"The sun," I laughed sending more pain through my body, "it's dawn." That beautiful light was the last thing I saw before everything went dark.


	12. The Damage is Done

At first, the only thing I could hear was screams. Then my heart beat started racing. There were shouts, but the words all mashed together. Three small sounds pulled me back into reality; _Beep. Beep. Beep._

Blankest scratched my arms and the bed was uncomfortable. The lights above me were artificial and annoyingly bright. That's when I saw him; completely unharmed, smiling shyly at me from his seat in the corner.

"Good morning Sleeping Beauty," he joked.

"Mike!" I exclaimed, nearly jumping out of the hospital bed.

"Take it easy, you're pretty banged up." The door clicked and I tore my eyes away from Mike to look at my visitor.

"Hey Chris," I relaxed, "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come check up on you. I didn't think you'd be up." His hair was sticking out in every direction instead of its usual point and his eyes seemed sunken-in and distant. "Who were you talking to?" he wondered.

"He's right over -" I motioned to the chair. The _empty_ chair. "I was just… thinking out loud." I took a deep breath, not willing to believe what was happening. "Where's Mike?" I asked hopefully, "is… is he okay?"

"Oh man Alexis," he ran his fingers through his hair. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to be the one to tell you this but… After the fire toned down a little, the people who found us sent in a team to go get him. By the time they got inside… there wasn't anything for them to find. It was too late. He didn't make Lex. It seemed that all life was sucked out of me all at once.

"That hypocritical jerk," I scoffed, trying to keep the tears from spilling over, as my voice cracked.

"What?" Chris looked at me confused.

"It's just that…. I was supposed to be the one that," I took in a sharp and painful breath, "the one who stayed back and blew up the lodge. He refused to let me die. The he had to go and be the hero." I sighed and changed the subject. "Is everyone else okay?"

"Oh- um- yeah, Sam's in the lobby, calming Ash down. Emily is being interviewed by the cops- they'll need to talk to you too. Isaac is getting himself coffee in the food court- the prick keeps complaining about his freaking _eye_." Chris growled, glancing at the boot on his ankle. "And they found Matt and Jess outside the mines.

"Hold on," I sat up, pain shooting up my leg, "Jessica is alive?"

"Yeah, you've missed a lot in the past twelve hours." He gave me a small smile, "but, yeah, Matt said he found her when he left you and Em. She's really beat up, maybe even more than you."

"Well she did fall down an elevator shaft," I remarked. I thought of the one person he hadn't mentioned. "W-what about… Josh?" Chris seemed hesitant to answer.

"When they found us, you had just passed out and none of us were sure if you would survive. The rescue team tried to get Josh into the helicopter, but man did he put up one hell of fight. He threw a few punches and they had to sedate him. When he woke up, the cops said he couldn't see you until he answered some questions. We told them that we were drinking after the prank and one of us tripped, while the rest of us were inside. The alcohol landed in the fireplace and started the fire and Mike went in to help. Josh took the blame.

"When they were done, they said he had to start taking medicine again, but unless anybody pressed charges, he would have to stay in the," Chris cleared his throat, "mental hospital."

"Did anybody press charges?" I asked.

"Sam's to forgiving, Isaac won't because he doesn't want to admit that he got beat up by a Washington." I snorted. Yep, that's Isaac alright. He continued. "And Ash is too scared to even talk about anything. Nobody else was really involved and I assume that you won't either." He looked down.

"What about you?"

"Josh is sick." He answered. I started at my hands, "But he's also my best friend. He doesn't deserve to be locked up."

"Where is he now?"

"Well, a few hours ago, Sam told him that they weren't sure if you'd wake up. When came up here and saw you, it was like he broke. I've never seen him cry so much since… well you know. After that, he went into his hospital room and started yelling at something he saw." Chris started at me with sad blue eyes. "He thinks all of this is his fault. You… Mike." The door opened a man entered, ushering Chris outside.

"I see that you're awaked," he smiled.

"When can I get out of here?" I wasn't putting up with happy faces and sugar coats.

"Your doctor said it shouldn't be much longer."

"Wait," I looked at his sweater- vest and khaki pants. "You're not my doctor?" Why else would a creepy old guy visit me?

"No, no," he chuckled, "not the kind you're thinking of anyway." The answer clicked in my head and I fell back on the gurney, irritated.

"You're a shrink."

"Dr. Alan Hill at our service," he stuck out his hand, but I crossed my arms.

"I don't need a psychiatrist," I protested. He laughed again and something inside me felt the need to run.

"Well from what your friend Samantha told me about your hallucinations in the mines, you may need more help than you think."

"Of course she told you," I muttered, silently cursing Sam for being so openly honest. "Look, I don't know what she said, but I'm fine… grieving, but fine." He clicked his tongue and ignored me, writing something in his little book.

"You seem to have the symptoms as your friend Joshua," he smiled slightly, "and we wouldn't want you ending up like him now would we?" I clenched my fists. "Aw yes, I forgot. You are very close to Mr. Washington, correct?"

"You really think you know everything, don't you?" I snapped. He just chuckled in response.

"Well, I did work with Josh over the past year, so I have heard quite a lot about your little group, you in particular." He took a seat in the chair I saw Mike in. I knew that Josh had been going to a doctor, but now I knew why it clearly didn't work. A half hour of uneasy silence and my actual doctor came in and checked the equipment next to me.

"You've suffered from both hypothermia and smoke inhalation." He glanced at me with a puzzled look, "A very interesting combination."

"Sounds like a good Friday night." Dr. Hill added, his lips stretching in a sickening grin.

"You also needed stitches on your side and your cheek, but it appears that you are good to go. You are going to need a boot for that leg injury, but only for about two weeks." He picked up a folded pile of shredded cloths and motioned to the T-shirt and jeans sitting on the nightstand, "I'll get rid of these, and your friend picked those out for you." He grinned and turned to leave.

"Wait," I took a deep breath, "can I keep the jacket?"

If there's one thing I've never been in my life, it's sentimental. Sure I've got three or four picture frames form occasions like prom or graduation. But you're not going to find old family photo albums tucked away in my closet. But part of me needed this jacket. I knew that it was ridiculous, and it wasn't even his. But it was the last part of him I had, which is the cheesiest explanation, I know. I couldn't let them throw it out. The doctor handed it to me and left. Dr. Hill stood to leave as well.

"I just have one last questions," he looked at me with interest, "All of your injuries could have been caused in the fire: except for the distinct claw marks on your face." I touched the long bandages on my face. "My brother is a hunter," he continued with disgust, "and I've seen my fair share of scratches… Tell me, what did that to you? Something tells me it wasn't a bear or a wolf… was it?" His eyes sparkled with interest.

"Yeah, sure," I snorted, "why don't we just go discuss it over coffee? _My treat_." He sensed my sarcasm and pulled something out of his pocket.

"Here's my card." And then he left. I could tell that he wasn't telling me something, but I decided not to dwell on it. I had more important things to deal with. I slipped out of the hospital gown and put on the shirt and jeans. The pants were hard to fit over the gauze around the spot the splinter had gone through. I strapped on the boot and opened the door.

"Thank god you're okay!" For a moment I thought the voice was my mother, but I wasn't that naïve. It was only my mother's assistant, Madison. My parents' could be bothered to come and see me, even though I could've been in a coma. "Everything's taken care of-"

"You can leave," I interrupted, "please."

"Oh… okay," she said meekly and walked quietly down the stairs. Madison wasn't one for arguing. I limped my way to the lobby, finding almost all of the nine others form the group. _Oh right… eight._ Apparently, Jess had been let go a few hours before I had. She crashed into me, wrapping her weak arms around my stomach, sending pain from my side.

"He came for me, Lex." She sobbed. "He came for me."

After they pulled Jessica away from me and the police asked their questions, I had Sam take me to Josh's room. She wanted to stay with me to make sure we'd both be okay, but I told her that'd I'd be better off on my own. I inhaled deeply and opened the door.

I don't know what I was expecting; for him to be screaming or trying to pull out his hair. He was just standing there, looking off into space… and I couldn't tell which was worse. But when he looked at me, his eyes grew with fear.

"Alexis? Please don't yell at me anymore." He begged, "they keep yelling at me."

"Josh I sighed and pulled him into a kiss. Every piece of relief I still had washed over me as my lips moved against his. His hand slipped onto my side, causing me to flinch. He stumbled away, staring at the still raw cuts on my face and the bulky cast on my foot.

"What did I do to you?" he whispered. His breathing quickened and his eyes searched the room frantically. "What did I do?!" I put my hands on either side of his face, forcing him to only see me.

"It's okay," I soothed, wrapping my arms around the shaking boy, "I'm here."

"You did this to him!" A voice yelled in my ear, but it wasn't Hannah or Beth. It was me. "This is all. Your. Fault!" I tried to force the screams out of my head, but they just became louder. I could feel myself begin to panic.

"Keep it together, Lexi." Mike commanded appearing next to us. His big brown eyes stared softly into mine. The jacket I had put over my shoulder fell to the ground. "Now's not a good time. He needs you right now, more than ever."

I held Josh like he was the only thing keeping me from slipping into the darkness, and he was. I kept waiting for Mike to start shouting blame at me like all of my others visions, but he never did. He laughed, hearing my thoughts.

"I spent an entire year helping you get rid of your nightmares." I could feel his ghostly fingertips graze my cheek, "Why should I become one?"

 **So that happened. It hurt a lot to go back and type up all of the scenes with Mike in them. But I do really think that no matter what, even in death, Mike will always be there to save the day.**


	13. Count the Steps

Sam drove Josh and me to my apartment without saying a word, for which I was grateful. Even though she hadn't driven to the mountain she was the only one who offered to drive us to my place since the doctors thought Josh wasn't stable enough. They also thought that he shouldn't go home alone, and since his parents were filming in Europe, I thought he could stay with me.

"Hey Lex, can I talk to you?" Sam asked when we reached my apartment.

"Yeah, sure," I turned to Josh who was standing in the door way. "You can just put your stuff in my room." I gestured to the bag Chris had packed for him. He nodded shyly and went inside.

"Lex," Sam sighed and a tear rolled down her face, "God, just come here." She pulled me into her strong arms as I started to break.

"How could Mike do this to me, Sam?" I sobbed into her shoulder. "How could he leave me?"

"I miss him too, Lex." She said softly. "He saved all of us." Sam gently pushed me back. "But right now, Josh needs you, more than ever, and you have to be strong… for him. Can I trust you to do that?" I nodded and she continued. "I can take Josh to his appointment with Dr. Hill," she flinched at his name, "in the morning. Make sure he takes the pills."

"It was supposed to be me, Sam.' I sniffed, "why couldn't he just let me die?"

"Maybe Mike needed you just as much as you needed him." That was the last thing she said before striding sadly down the hall.

The apartment was dark and cold, which felt fitting. I couldn't bring myself to look at my former office door. Josh was already passed out on my bed, so I decided to sleep on my couch, to keep from waking him. I didn't bother to change. I just wrapped myself in the burnt smelling jacket before drifting off.

 _Claws dug into my ankles as the wendigo yanked me into the black liquid. I broke through the surface of the gasoline, finding hundreds of bodies hanging above me, all of them the same nine people. So many screams echoed through my brain. Hands gripped my feet before dragging me under. I kicked and swam, but it just pulled me further down, the weight slowly crushing me._

It felt strange- waking up on my couch in my apartment as if nothing had changed. Josh's silhouette sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the wall.

"Josh?"

"They're gone," he deadpanned. I sighed and moved to sit next to him. He barely glanced at me before I set my head on his shoulder. For the longest time, we did nothing, letting our tears speak for themselves. I was careful to keep my emotions together, but I knew they would come back around later. I looked at the time; 1:37 A.M.

"You need to rest," I yawned, starting toward the couch.

"Wait," he called after me, his voice sounded rough, like he had just swallowed a pound of sand, "c-could you stay? I mean… it is your room after all." He smiled shyly and lied down. I threw off the blankets and huddled next to him. I couldn't help but stare into the icy pools of his eyes.

"Josh…" I could feel him tense up, predicting what I was going to say.

"Don't say it," he growled. "Don't you dare say it's not my fault."

"It's not-"

"You said it yourself down in those caves; no one would have been there if it wasn't for me and now Mike's dead and- and Ashley's not gonna be _okay_ and Chris…" he closed his eyes. "How can you even look at me after what I did?" I pressed my lips softly to his.

"Josh Washington," I began firmly, "we have both committed crimes we're not proud of. But I love you, no matter what you've done."

Sam picked up Josh up in the morning like she said, leaving me completely and utterly alone. I sat on the carpet and stared at the office door for an entire hour before going in.

The smell of pizza and old cologne and overall college boy was almost over whelming. Flannel shirts littered the floor along with the majority of Mike's wardrobe. It was only supposed to be one weekend. Just two days of reunion back on the mountain we had all come to love. How was he supposed to know he wasn't coming back?

Something on the desk caught my eye. It was a picture of us at a football game in high school when Mike and I were together. I was making a stupid face as he kissed my cheek. Emily was glaring at us from behind and Sam was snatching some popcorn form our bag, Hannah sitting next to her, clearly trying to ignore us.

" _They're gone!"_ my mind hissed.

"I'm sorry." I cried. "I'm so sorry!" Every emotion that was bottled inside me sent me crashing to the floor in a shaking and sobbing heap. I gripped the picture frame, the corners digging into my hands. He had saved me so many times in so many ways, why couldn't I save him? I'm supposed to be dead. The wendigo was supposed to kill me that night when Hannah and Beth fell. I was supposed to be taken by the monster into the mines, not Josh. I was supposed to be left in the flaming lodge to save everyone. Mike should be mourning my death and comforting Jessica. It might have taken a while to forget me, but everyone does eventually. My parents made sure of that.

They would have a big memorial and my mom and dad would pretend to cry, but they would just continue on with their lives, as if they never had a daughter at all. Mike had a family, a girlfriend. I thought of Josh. He should be with someone strong like Sam. Someone who can really help him and be there for him.

"Why couldn't you let me burn?" I screamed. "How could you leave me?" I suddenly noticed the gun on the table. I read the initials carved into the handle: _GJM_. General Jonathon Monroe. His father must have given it to him. The man who just lost his only son.

"Alexis, don't." Mike commanded. I ignored him and stood up.

"it was supposed to be me," I whispered, picking the gun up from the desk. I imagined by brains splattered on the wall, ending everything.

"That was the point, Alexis! I died to make sure you'd be safe." He looked at me with pleading and panicked eyes. "Do this and my death will mean nothing."

"I can't live like this Michael!" I yelled at the air. " _Everything_ means nothing now." I put the cold barrel against my temple.

"What about Josh?" Does he mean nothing to you?" My finger faltered on the trigger.

"He deserves someone better. Not a coward."

"Josh loves you, Lex." Mike begged. "If you do this, he'll be the one losing you. The grief will destroy him, Alexis. He's lost enough already." I paused, wanting to simply give up, but I couldn't put Josh through losing someone else. I tossed the pistol to the floor and sat on the bed, feeling empty.

"Why are you helping me?" I asked noticing how the mattress tilted when he sat nexto to me. "And how are you doing that?"

"Let's just say, I'm not entirely a hallucination," he shrugged.

"Are you saying you're a ghost?" I almost smirked, "You don't look like Patrick Swayze to me."

"I like to think of myself as your guardian angel." He joked.

"We you're doing a mighty bang up job." I sighed, staring at the weapon on the ground.

"You do realize your gonna need a little more help than me right?" he got up and walked to the window. "I'm not always going to be here."

"What do you mean?"

"That's just what _they_ said," he answered blankly.

"Who?" I wondered. Mike simply turned to me and smiled before he disappeared.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sam asked, taking her eyes off the road. "I mean, he is kind of creepy."

"If Josh can do it, so can I."

"I'm not saying you don't need help Lex," she looked meaningfully at me, taking her eyes off the road. "But does it have to be from him?"

"he's not that bad," Josh muttered form the backseat. I had almost forgotten he was with us. I think it was comforting for him to know that he wasn't the only who needed help, though I'm sure the others have been going to therapy too, Ashley especially. It had been two weeks and I hadn't heard from her. Chris had come by a few times to check up on Josh and he said she just needs time. Sam still talks to Jess, and Matt kept in touch. Emily still acted like none that night had happened. God knows what happened to Isaac. Ocean View Hospital looked like a mansion and sat on a hill overseeing the sea.

"Do you want us to go in with you?" Josh asked. I shook my head and opened the door. He came out after me. "No goodbye?" He almost smiled. I kissed his lips lightly and then his nose, remembering a similar farewell a year before.

"Bye Kent." He climbed in the car. Sam gave me one last wave before driving off. I inhaled deeply and walked to the front door. It was like waltzing into my parent's house. Big, fancy, and _fake_. A secretary typed away on the computer. There was a plaque on the wall, listing the names of all the doctors. _Alan Hill_ was the first.

"I take it you're the new 3:00?" The lady asked looking up from the screen.

"I guess so," I sighed.

"Follow me." She led me up a huge stair case and down a few hall ways. "He'll be with you in just a moment." I slouched into a comfy green couch that was across from the office. About ten minutes later a boy with short blond hair and piercing grey eyes came out the door.

"Isaac?"

"Oh, hey Alexis," he watched his feet as he shuffled down the hall.

"That's right. You two know each other well." Dr. Hill smiled and my stomach dropped. "Please… come in."

"Here goes nothing," I mumbled.

The room was designed to look welcoming so it couldn't feel more distant. Hill sat at his desk and motioned for me to take the chair in front him. I took a seat, noticing how my chair was slightly smaller than his.

"So Alexis," he started, opening the same little notebook he had at the hospital. "Judging by our previous encounter, I know that you like to get to the point." He leaned back, "Tell me about your trips to Blackwood Mountain."

"I don't like this guy," Mike stated, lounging in an arm chair.

"Well, we used to go to the lodge almost every month. Then we all went to college and we only went for-" I paused, "the twins' birthday." He wrote something on the paper.

"I take it you all have some happy memories at the lodge?"

"We did."

"Tell about some of them."

"Well um… one time back in his school, uh- Ashley and I were out hiking and we saw a coupled bears. She thought that they would try to eat us, and dragged me back to the cabin. I never let her live it down." It was the lease personal story I could think of and Hill knew it.

"You and Ashley are close?"

"Yeah… she _was_ my best friend." He scribbled some more.

"Now, tell me about your last two visits to Blackwood." He stared at me with icy blue eyes. I cringed, even though I had been prepared for this question. There was no way I could tell him what really happened. I stood up.

"You know what? This was a bad idea, I think I'm gonna go."

"Sit down," he commanded. "Tell me what happened." I sat and tapped my knee irritably.

"You won't believe me." I snapped.

"He won't," Mike agreed.

"Just," Dr. Hill sighed, "start from the beginning." I leaned forward, trying to look intimidating despite the smaller seat.

"Imagine the most annoying sound you can think of…"

 **I totally had to pull an Outsiders, I couldn't resist. Since the next chapter will be the last of Side Effects May Include, I am going to end my author's note here. I really want to thank all of you for all of the support I've gotten for this story. I will be posting a one shot in Josh's point of view for scenes not fully covered in this one. Also, a second book is in the making. Thank you all for sticking with Alexis this far and I hope you enjoy.**


	14. Somewhere to Begin

It was hard to believe that an entire year had passed since everything happened, but not quite as hard to believe as where I was standing. Mike sat by the headstone, fiddling with a blade of grass. He seemed completely unfazed by the fact that his name was the one carved into the rock.

"Do you think he's okay… wherever he is?" I asked both Josh and Mike.

"Man I hope so." Josh gripped my hand tighter, squeezing the ring between my fingers.

"Yeah Alexis, I'm okay," Mike answered looking at the both of us. "I see that he finally asked." I glanced at the gold band with five diamonds around the ring; red, black, brown, yellow, and white. I thought it was a little much, but Josh had looked the happiest I'd seen him in two years. Of course I said yes.

I nervously looked at my tattooed wrist. It was a butterfly, identical to Hannah's. Underneath it was the date February 2nd in cursive black letters: _today_. Dr. Hill had come up with _brilliant_ idea of going back to Blackwood. None of us wanted to return to that hell hole, but something made us all agree. I requested that we visit Mike's grave before we left.

Everyone was here; Ashley clung to Chris a few yards away from us, Emily stood silently next to Matt who watched Josh and I with sad eyes, Isaac wasn't far from them. Sam was close behind Josh and me, ready to pick up the pieces if one of us broke. Jessica stood the farthest from the grave. _Alone_. Mike watched her with longing.

"Make sure Jess'll be okay." He sighed.

" _I will,"_ I promised in my head so no one could hear but him. Having him here had just been like when he was… alive. Only I was the only one who could see, hear, and feel him. The wind whipped at my newly-cut short hair and I huddled closer to Josh. It still all felt extremely surreal, like all of us were just going back for another big birthday bash. But now we had to return to the mountain as a memorial. To help us find closure or whatever. The thought still made me sick. The Washington's had just finished restoring the crumbling lodge to its 'former glory' for good publicity. The fact that Hill was coming with us just made everything worse.

Dr. Hill wasn't completely useless though. He forced me to learn that we all must face the consequences of our actions in the end, whatever those side effects may include. He was waiting in his car for us to start the trip.

Even the old memories of the mountain felt like someone else's. Remembering them just seemed like watching a movie through a stranger's eyes. Nothing felt mine anymore… except Josh. Even though he had it worse than me, he'd helped me through all the nightmares and the pain. He told me everything he went through that year without his sisters and I told him what happened to me. We were the only ones who could ever understand how it felt to be crazy.

"Psychopaths!" My own voice hissed in my ears. Dr. Hill had given me pills, but I refused to take them in fear of not being able to see Mike. "You killed his sisters and now he's as crazy as you are." Even after two years of listening to the voices, each word still stung.

"Leave her alone!" Mike growled. Josh comforted my pain and Mike had protected me from my inner demons. He smirked up at me, "You're going to need to face the voices by yourself. You know that, right?"

 _"But I'll always have you to protect me,"_ I thought.

"Not always."

I knelt down and ran my fingers over the letters spelling Mike's name. _In loving memory of Michael Monroe, loving son and close friend._ I thought of the funeral. There had been so many people, most of them I didn't even know. Almost his entire senior class was there. He was class president after all. I remember all the dirty looks they gave me and Josh, silently blaming us for what happened. But how could I deny them?

"It wasn't your fault." Mike insisted.

 _"I know."_ With Mike always knowing what I'm thinking, I've learned to lie even in my thoughts. I rubbed my thumb against the rough concrete on the edge of the headstone.

"I mean it Lex," Mike grabbed my chin and made me look at him. I couldn't imagine how it must have looked to everyone else. "Nothing that happened in the past two years was your fault."

 _"If I had stopped the prank when I had the chance, none of this crap would have happened and you three would still be here."_ I thought unintentionally. " _I was so… selfish. I hadn't even gone out to find the twins. If it wasn't for Isaac I would have stayed inside all cozy and warm."_

"You couldn't have done anything."

"Tell that to them." I muttered aloud. His eyes shifted and the corner of his lip pulled up in a lop-sided smile.

"Tell them yourself." A hand fell on mine and I stumbled back.

"Alexis, what's wrong?" Sam asked startled by my unsteadiness. I stared at the pair of brown eyes watching me.

"H-Hannah? Beth?" Josh stammered low enough only I could hear. I stared at him with shock and wonder. He saw them too.

"Hey Lexi," Hannah grinned, taking her hand away from the grave stone. Beth rolled her eyes at her sister's excitement, but gave me a small smirk and looked meaningfully at her brother.

"It's time to go Mike." Beth declared. Both of us stood up and my hand found its place in Josh's fingers.

"What do you mean time to go?" I whimpered. I glanced at Josh. His eyes were wide and tearing up.

"I told you Lex. I'm not going to be here forever." Mike turned to Beth who gave him a pat on the shoulder. "It's time to face the darkness. Without me." He kissed my forehead and started to walk away, hand in hand with Beth. Hannah carefully wrapped her arms around me.

"We forgive you." She whispered. She touched her fingers to Josh's cheek and he put his hand over hers. "Both of you. And it's okay," she promised him, "we're happy." Josh held onto her hand as she turned and caught up with the other two. She latched onto Mike's arm, causing both him and me to laugh. A single tear rolled down my face and a hand slipped into mine.

Isaac took and deep breath and looked down at me. Emily grabbed his hand, Matt taking hers and Sam gripping Matt's. Chris took Josh's hand, Ashley still holding his. Jessica leaned against Ashley, her hand shakily grabbing Ash's.

We were quite the group. Sam; the pacifist, Emily; the scholar, Jessica; the Homecoming Queen, Matt; the linebacker, Josh; the prankster, Chris; the geek, me; the track star, Ashley; the dreamer, Isaac; the Captain of the basket ball team, and Mike… the hero.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Josh sighed, still al little startled from what happened at the grave. He checked the rearview mirror for Dr. Hill's car behind us. His eyes darted toward the trees that were getting thicker.

"I want you to promise me something." I took out my headphones and turned to my nervous fiancé.

"Anything," Josh smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. It hadn't for a long time.

"No matter what happens… we won't blame ourselves for anything. We've come too far this year to fall again." I thought of Mike's words before he… left. "And- we stick together. If we're facing the darkness, we face it together."

If there's one thing Josh taught me, it's we never out grow being afraid of the dark. We've carried the fear through our whole lives since we were kids and it stays with us until our last breaths. When the sun goes down, the darkness awakens, read to swallow us whole. Some fear it, some fight it, but some of us have learned to simply survive…

 ** _Until Dawn._**


End file.
